Between Shadows Episode III Livin' Dead Girl
by Scb047
Summary: Xander’s spin-off series, set a few years in the future in New York. Xander faces a moral dilemma as he must protect a man from his undead girlfriend, while trying to readjust his new life to the surprise visit of an old friend.


Between Shadows

Between Shadows

Episode 3: Livin' Dead Girl

Title: Between Shadows (Episode III: Livin' Dead Girl)

Author: Scb047 (scb047@hotmail.com)

Summary: Xander's spin-off series, set a few years in the future in New York. Xander faces a moral dilemma as he must protect a man from his undead girlfriend, while trying to readjust his new life to the surprise visit of an old friend. 

Distribution: Distribute away, no permission required.

Feedback: Please do.

Disclaimer: If you want to sue me, first you gotta catch me. Long live Napster and the joys of copyright infringements!!!

Jonahs ran his fingers through his thinning hair as he scanned the night, turning his head from side to side. He sucked hard on his cigarette before he crushed the butt with his foot and walked away briskly onto the streets of Manhattan. The sound of footsteps returned, and with it the sensation of fear. Jonahs turned his head back, and still nothing. The street was still deserted, else for him and the overpowering sensation of being followed, of danger lurking somewhere. He broke into a full speed run.

When he looked over his shoulder again, he saw something this time. Five thugs were running after him, laughing as they did. Others seemed to join them, pouncing out of shadows and from alleys. Suddenly a car's windows exploded as its rooftop dented under the weight of a man. He had jumped from one of a nearby building, jumped an impossible height to come crashing calmly a few feet from Jonahs. The man smiled, a wicked look on his demonic features. Fangs. Overgrown skull. His eyes, a terrifying yellow.

Jonahs kept bolting, a piercing pain in his lower chest as he was quickly running out of breath.He cursed himself silently for not hitting the gym for the last three years. Time Square was just a few blocks away. Busy streets. Light. Safety. He had to make it; he had to. His long overcoat flapped away in the wind, as his pursuers were getting increasingly closer, their faces all displaying the same horrific characteristics. Suddenly, an arm appeared in front of him, extending from an alley. Jonahs feet flew upwards as his head started a voyage toward the ground. His body crashed hard, pain vibrating through it. He muttered another silent curse, feeling like an idiot for falling prey to the clothesline. The vampires now stood all around him, smiling as they leaned over their terrified little catch.

"Check his wallet," said one of them.

"No need, it's him."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Jonahs looked up at the night sky, there were no stars that he could see. It seemed oddly appropriate. The wind was strong on top of the building he stood on, his feet brushing the gravel as his captors hurried him along. He was so close now, Time Square only a block away, but of course, a long way down. His eye stopped a moment on the rooftop of the adjacent building, it was considerably lower but it wasn't too far away from the one he was standing on. One of the vampires shoved him forward again and he landed to his knees, right at someone's feet.

Jonahs slowly looked up though he had no need to. His eyes scanned up over the cloaked, but still visibly feminine figure. Her hands were pale and thorn, the flesh hanging from the bones. Her face hid once beautiful features under a mask of horror and decomposition. A part of her upper lip was missing, exposing her rotting teeth. Her long dark hair, dry and dirty, hanged over her face hiding as much of her features as it could. There was the stench of death all around her.

"Layla," he said fearfully, getting back to his feet. She waved off the vampires who were about to push him back down. A sad look braced her features.

"Why are you doing this, Jonahs? Why are you running away from me?" she said sadly, her voice was beautiful but filled with pain and sorrow.

"Because you want to kill me, Layla," he said, his voice still trembling. 

"I only want us to be together, like you did once." She tried to smile as she put her hands on his arms.

"Not anymore… not ever," he said coldly, pushing her violently off of him. She crashed into two vampires, creating an opening in the circle around him. There was no time to loose, Jonahs dashed rapidly through it and jumped off the rooftop, his body traveling for a second in the air toward the adjacent building. He landed rather well, rolling as he did, but it was still a long fall. As he got up and started running, he noticed the pain in his ankle; he'd twisted it.

"Get him!" yelled out Layla as she got to her feet, her voice sounded inhuman now. Angry and ravenous. "That's what I'm paying you for!"

"Ain't she the most gorgeous girl you've ever seen?" asked Marcus emphatically, his hand grabbing on to Xander's shoulder. "I mean she's like, Bam!"

Xander sighed angrily. Annoyance was spread on his face as he kept staring forward, trying to ignore Marcus antics. They both sat on the living room's couch, the TV screen shimmering its tales in front of them. Child of Destiny. Cordy's show. Marcus had managed to trick him into watching it. It wasn't a bad show, far from it, in fact it was both critically acclaimed and hugely popular, but that wasn't what was bothering Xander about it. This week, Cordelia's character, Destiny, had to use her psychic powers to rescue the show's comic relief, Roger, from a demon-induced syphilis. 

"Yo, if I ever got my hands on a girl like that," said Marcus, closing his eyes as he pictured his hands all over her body. "I would grab onto her and never let go. You know what I'm saying, dog. No matter what."

"Yeah," said Xander monotonously. "Only an idiot would let a girl like that get away."

"Damn right," said Marcus, suddenly sending his arms flying in the air as the ever idiotic and clumsy Roger made a whole new terrible mistake. "Man, that Roger's a real dork." Xander slowly turned his head toward Marcus and glared intensely at him. Marcus quickly grew uneasy, retreating onto outskirt of the couch.

"What?" he asked puzzled and a bit scared. Suddenly, Sanaz popped out of the kitchen to the rescue. She leaned over from behind the couch, her arms wrapping around their shoulders, as her head came into alignment between theirs. 

"What's up boys? Watching "Child of Destiny", I love that show!" she said emphatically. "It's so empowering to see a strong female lead on TV."

"Yeah," said Marcus, "Too bad in real life that girl would get creamed by any of those demons. I mean, no girlfriend could have her shit tight like that when it comes to fighting the big evils. Just not realistic."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Marcus," she continued. "The other day me and Carl…"

"Professor Henry? So you're on first name basis, now."

"Me and Carl, we found a very cool legend about this thing called the Slayer. Every generation apparently, one girl gets called to hunt vampires. She's given super-strength and a bunch of other powers," she said leaning close to Marcus to drawl the last part. "Very empowering."

"Whatever. I believe it when I see it."

"Well I choose to believe it. What do you think California? Ever heard of something like that in your old days, whatever it is you were doing?" she asked Xander. He didn't speak for a moment, taking in a deep breath before he answered.

"I think I might have heard of something like that," he said, lying convincingly. Sanax stood tall, a triumphant smile on her lips. She stood like this over Maecus for a moment before she strutted back to the kitchen.

Katrina looked sympathetically toward Gabe who held his head down staring at the floor, a lump in his throat. He was sitting in one of the kitchen's chair, his shoulder slumped forward, Katrina's hand on one of them, as she loomed over him. He looked up and she smiled as he shook his head in resolve.

"You right Katrina," he said, getting up to his feet. "I'm gonna talk to him." Sanaz who had been standing unnoticed in the kitchen doorway, coughed to gain their attention. She smiled at them as they both looked a little embarrassed, but Gabe had a certain calm content she hadn't seen in him since Annie died. He walked past her politely, smiling to her as he did, and headed straight toward the living room. She closed the door behind him, while smiling mischievously at her best friend.

"You really like him, don't you?" asked Sanaz.

"Gabe!?"

"No… our dark and brooding hero. You know, the one you just managed to make my bro forgive," she responded as Katrina sunk into the chair.

"Oh that… well duh! It's not like I'm not trying to make it obvious to him. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong," she said her shoulders slumping forward, her eyes staring at the floor.

"Honey, I know psychology isn't one of my majors, but it is a personal interest, and I can tell you it doesn't take Sigmund Freud to figure out Xander's biggest scars don't show up on his skin. Your boy's messed up, Katrina."

"I know, I mean, he mentioned something about that, but… I just don't know how to help him if he never talks about it."

"You can't, hon. If he hasn't talked to us by now, he probably never will. Some people react like that. Repression is a way of living. It's probably working for him. What I'm more concerned about is you and how you're gonna get your sugar," said Sanaz, making Katrina smile at the comment.

"Okay, so what's the plan, Big sister?" she asked, cheering up.

"Well, you can't wait for him to go to you, so what you need is to be aggressive," she said. Katrina started shaking her head in agreement.

"Yeah," she said.

"You need to grab him and make him yours," continued Sanaz, sounding increasingly like a football coach. Katrina got to her feet, shaking her head in more exaggerated movement.

"Yeah!" she said more decisively.

"You're gonna march over there right now, and show him who's boss. You want him, you take him. He doesn't have a choice. Remember, be aggressive." 

"Yeah!" she almost yelled. A few moments passed as her head movements slowed down and became shyer. She started biting on her lip. "…right after I finish cleaning the oven."

"Marcus!" yelled Garret's voice from upstairs. "Are you ready? 'Cause Melissa and her friend should be here any minute."

"Don't worry, dog. I got it all under control," replied Marcus preoccupied more by the moment he was witnessing between Xander and Gabe. Garrett had picked up a girl yesterday at a bar and they had organized to go out this evening, Marcus catching the traditional blind date. He figured the girl would be a major dog and he wasn't too thrilled about an evening of taking one for the team. 

"Again," said Xander as he pulled out of a long hug with his best friend. "I'm real sorry, man." Gabe waved his arms in a brushing motion.

"Forget it, California. I'm sorry it took me so long to come around," replied Gabe, smiling. "You just let me know if you need backup in the future. I mean watching you getting you're ass kicked a bit might take care of any residual animosity."

"Yeah," said Xander laughing. "I'm gonna feel real secure about depending on you. From now on we shall be known as TARDY and the UNRELIABLE MAN." They both laughed together as the doorbell rang in the background.

"Marcus!" yelled Garrett from upstairs.

"Sanaz!" yelled Marcus, his eyes still fixed on the two friends making up. Sanaz came sighing out of the kitchen, walking decisively toward the front door. She flung it open expecting another couple of posh socialite, the type Garrett always brought home. She was taken aback by what was before her. A gorgeous raven-haired woman leaned against the doorframe. Her leather pants creaked as her hips swayed from side to side. She wore a tight blue tank top, a black leather coat over her shoulders. On her nose were stylish yellow-tinted sunglasses, hanging low enough for Sanaz to catch the girl's eyes; they reflected nothing but confidence. She worked her outfit to the max, not that anything wouldn't have worked on her. She was athletic. She was sexy. She obviously had attitude. She was totally not Garret's type, and probably way out of his league. It had to be his date's friend, Marcus' blind date.

"I'm lookin' for a guy, his name's…" managed to say the girl, before Sanaz interrupted her.

"Yeah, I know. They'll be with you in a moment," said Sanaz as she waved the girl in and closed the door behind her. The girl looked puzzled as she scanned the surrounding, but Sanaz paid little attention as she headed back toward the kitchen.

"Marcus!" she yelled, "Your blind date's here, and trust me, you're gonna want to take a look." The girl raised an eyebrow, quite amused. As Sanaz disappeared into the kitchen, Marcus made his way to the lobby and was suddenly breathless. Before him, stood the woman of his dream. A longhaired beauty clothed in leather and dressed in attitude. She smiled at him. He raised his head toward the ceiling, muttering a thank you at both God and Garrett at the same time. He quickly lowered his head, licking his lips as he did. She turned her head away for a second, laughing at his display. He strutted over to her, trying to look his coolest, trying to get his mojo on. 

"Hey there, baby girl! I'm Marcus, please tell me you're not Melissa." She looked at him, her eyes moving from his feet to his shoulders and back again. He was a tad shorter than her.

"I'm not, Melissa," she said calmly. Marcus started to grow uneasy under her stare. She moved closer toward him.

"What?" he tried to ask politely. She put a finger on his chest and started to draw imaginary figures on it. Marcus heart was racing.

"You're black," she purred.

"Last time I checked," he said swallowing hard as she slowly backed him against the wall, still drawing imaginary circles.

"I have a thing, for black guys. They're generally… tall," she said smiling at him sexily. Her face was awfully close to his; he could feel her breathing on his skin.

"That's what they say," he said. Shaking his head, his thoughts a mile a minute. She leaned in real close and whispered in his ear.

"Too bad you're not," she said teasingly as she pulled away, an evil grin on her face. Marcus was dumbfounded has she walked past him and toward the living room. He came out of his stupefaction as her fantastic ass disappeared behind the corner.

"Wait," he said, as he walked after her. "Girl, you can't leave a brother hangin' like that."

Xander smiled as him and Gabe continued to talk. It felt good. Xander felt as if everything was falling back into place, everything was normal again. He felt peaceful, unaware of the woman standing a few feet behind him, grinning as she stared straight at him. She stood there silently for a moment, just watching and listening to him, almost in awe. Her trance was undisturbed by the arrival of Marcus, who lured behind her now, or Sanaz or Katrina who came walking out of the kitchen.

"But I'm not sure what you mean by aggressive," asked Katrina to her best friend, not noticing the mysterious girl in the living room. 

"Boy Toy!" shouted the girl, all of a sudden, grabbing everyone's attention. Xander's body suddenly tensed up as a glass of water escaped his grip, and came crashing down onto the floor. He slowly turned around, everyone watching attentively as he did. Xander had a mixed facial expression of surprise and disbelief, with a hint of fear.

"Faith?" his voice was weak. She raised an eyebrow at his response and then started rapidly closing the distance between them.

"Oh, you can do better than that," said Faith as she grabbed him violently by the white tank top he was wearing and pushed her voluptuous lips against his. Pulling him into a passionate kiss that soon became mutual. Everyone stared in bewilderment as she pushed him hard against the back of the couch; their body in full contact has her hand traveled down toward his crotch.

"Something like that?" asked Katrina to Sanaz, both still bewildered.

"Yeah, that would do it."

Watching the sexy stranger aggressively necking with Xander was somewhat reminiscent of a few nature channel's programming Gabe had caught over the years. She was as a predator pouncing on a helpless prey, her hands caressing his face, his entire body. Digging her fingers deep in his hair, pulling him close to her. Gabe was impressed, as well as very curious as to what the story was here. His attention was diverted only a moment as he caught a glimpse of Garrett standing next to Marcus. He was dressed spiffy and looked less stupefied than the others; Gabe had no idea when exactly he had joined them, or how much time had passed exactly. Garrett whistled approvingly.

"She's hot," he said, shaking his head in approval. "Why is she making out with Gramps?" Marcus shrugged his shoulders, his face still filled with awe and confusion. There was another moment of silence until Sanaz coughed forcefully. Faith didn't seem to care, but Xander's eyes suddenly opened, and he very embarrassedly started pushing her off of him. She smiled as she slowly pulled away; both of them were slightly out of breath.

"You buffed up, Boy Toy," she said, her hands still caressing his arms. "Dig the new look, pinch and all. Got me all tinglin'."She smiled teasingly as Xander seemed flustered. Without a moment's notice, she leaned again for another pass, but Xander pulled his head back

"Euh… Faith," he said, his eyes directing her toward the group of spectator whom she had chose to ignore until now, and saw no reason to start. She turned her head for a moment and then started pouncing at him again.

"What? They don't like to watch?"

"Faith," said Xander as he managed to slip out from her grip. "That's not it."

Faith smile disappeared as she stared directly toward Katrina and Sanaz, seizing them up as she would a couple of opponents. The blond girl seemed even more distraught than Xander, while the tanned brunette was tapping her foot, her arms folding across her chest.

"Oh," said Faith smiling again. "I get. Don't want to upset the FM. Let me guess, you're Chocolat and you're good old reliable Vanilla, right?" She pointed at Sanaz and then Katrina.

"What's a FM?" asked a confused Katrina as Sanaz seemed to be getting ticked off.

"Flavor of the Month," responded Faith, smiling and seemingly calm.

"Who the hell, are you?" asked Sanaz, as Faith straightened up, the smile disappearing from her face. Xander quickly stepped in between the two girls.

"Everybody do the chill thing, alright," said Xander. "Everyone this is Faith, an old friend of mine. Faith, this is Sanaz and Katrina and they're just… Wait… What are you doing here? You're not here to kill me are you?" Xander pulled back as he said the last part. She rolled her eyes.

"Please Xand, why would I want to kill you?" she said, circling the couch as she did. Her eyes following her finger as it slid alongside the couch's material."'Cause you pulled a 'gone to get the milk' on me, two years ago. Please, it was fun and all but this is me we're talkin' about. Plus, no offense, but you were startin' to cramp my style. I was losin' my edge, you know. So don't sweat it, we're Five by Five." 

"You say that too," commented Gabe "I'm Gabe by the way." She turned her head and smiled at him.

"Who do you think Boy Toy, got it from?"

"Yay, on the not vengeance seeking," said Xander, seeming more calm. "but how did you find me?"

"It starts with a G and it feeds on book and English muffins," she answered, leaning against the wall as Xander shook his head in understanding. "Don't go ballistic on him, Giles didn't think you'd mind." She looked a bit disappointed, as if she assumed he did mind. Xander sighed, and then smiled at her warmly.

"I don't, Faith," he said. "It's just a bit unexpected. But it's great to see you again."

"Fab," said Faith, cracking a mischievous grin. "'Cause I was plannin' on crashin' here and I'd really have hated having to tie all of you guys up."

"Oh you can stay," added Garrett enthusiastically. "Garrett. I own the place and we do have an extra room. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't tie some of us up." Faith laughed and then quickly turned back to Xander. There was a moment of silence as they both looked at each other from across the room. It was nice to see her again, standing there nervously glancing from the floor to him with those beautiful eyes of hers. Most people wouldn't pick up on it, but he knew her well enough see past the tough girl persona. They smiled at each other still saying nothing; the silence was becoming ridiculous. She rolled her eyes and motioned him toward the window, as she journeyed there herself, another mischievous look about her. He followed intrigued, as did slowly everyone else.

"Tada," she said pointing at a black racing motorcycle outside. "Brought you a goodwill offering, so I'll feel less guilty for mooching here for a while." Xander's face illuminated as he examined the modified Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R outside and suddenly realized what it was.

"My old bike! Where you get it, I left it in San Diego," he said, looking very much like kid on Christmas day. His head darted from it to Faith for a moment, and then, without warning, he lunged toward Faith grabbing her into a strong hug. He raised her in the air, spinning around as she laughed. 

"Never mind where I got it," she said as he put her down. "I should mention though, my releasing this bike into your custody is totally conditional on you doing a little trade in." She held up her hand, her fingers inviting Xander to fork over what she wanted. He smiled looking away for a moment, his head nodding. He then reached in the back of his jeans and pulled out her knife. As he handed it over to her, she threw him the keys.

"Wicked," she said cheerily, as she cut the air with close and fluid motions, checking the balance. She stared at the blade for a second before turning toward the two girls. "Isn't it crazy how men always try to steal little souvenir from you, like humping them ain't enough. They need a set of panties or your favorite bra to get off when you ain't around anymore. Pathetic." Sanaz nodded her head in agreement, earning a stare from Katrina and Gabe.

"What? It's true," said Sanaz, feeling increasingly awkward under everyone stares. Suddenly, Faith grabbed Xander's arm and started dragging him toward the door.

"Enough chit chat," said Faith, "Let's go party."

"Faith wait… wait," said Xander, as they both came to a stop. "I'm not the man you knew two years ago, I haven't partied like we used to in a long time. I mean, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't… well do the other things." His eyes darted nervously to his friends. Faith swayed her hips, still grinning, quite sure of herself.

"What the drugs, the brawls, the womanizing? Please it's like riding a bike, Boy Toy. Plus no matter what's happened to you in the last two years, no matter how square you've allowed yourself to become, deep down inside I know that you're still bad to the bone. But more importantly, you'll handle it because I'm not givin' you any other choices. Settled? Let's ride." She walked a bit and turned around when she didn't hear Xander walk after her. He still stood in the same spot looking unsure as to what to do, but obviously tempted to follow. She sighed.

"Don't make me come over there," said Faith. Xander gave her a resigned look.

"Alright, I think I've resisted enough to give the illusion I didn't want to go." 

"Hey can we come," asked Garrett.

"What about our dates?" asked Marcus turning toward his best friend.

"Fuck 'em, I'll get new ones tomorrow," answered Garrett. "Plus this seems more interesting." 

"I like him," said Faith to Xander before turning to Garrett. "I don't know. Places we hang, might not be your style."

"We can handle," answered Sanaz enthusiastically.

The limp body of a Kachera demon came crashing down out of nowhere and onto the table which seemed to jilt to the chant of hollers that were encouraging the fight. The demon purplish features were streaked with an oozy green that seeped out of his head wounds. Everyone at the table jumped back in a mix of surprise and fear, except for Faith who was completely calm at first. That quickly changed as she watched the few beers that had been left behind by the table's previous occupants spill some of their content over her. She jumped to her feet, her chair falling back behind her. The demon that had just thrown his compatriot onto her table abruptly wiped the smile of his face. He slowly backed away from the spot he had been standing so proud only moments ago. He looked embarrassed, afraid even, as Faith glared at him; the hollering died down. She then turned her attention to the Kachera.

"You are so dead," she drawled grabbing the body on top of the table and raising it so she could see his face. She then paused, as she saw no sign of life. "Oh, I guess you already are." She threw him hard onto the floor, laughing as she did. The rest of the bar joined in the cheering; the whole gang seemed mortified as they watched her sat back down in the chair right next to Xander's empty one. 

The whole experience was a bit much for them. The "Dying Light" pulsated with heavy metal music and the occasional folklore, often old drinking songs from all languages, some of which were clearly not human. It was a strange mix that was sometime blended in with techno and alternative. Records and live performances; violinist dancing on the bars, jumping from table to table as the demonic looking DJ did his magic at the mixing table. The whole bar was in constant movement. The place was a constant party, the like of which they had never seen. Shadows of faces, appeared through the thick cloud of cigarette smoke and disappeared just as quickly. Faces of demons and humans, all sorts and shapes, a fairly equal ratio by the look of it, but who knew how many of these humans were really just humans. The club was very neo-gothic, very Romanesque in design. Bulky, poorly lit, stuffy and since it was literally underground, windowless.

They felt uneasy, their table near the middle of the room, right next to the dancing floor. Gabe would often look over his shoulder, queasy about the fact that demons were all around him. He would turn to watch a small group of black skin and yellowed eyed demon laughing and pointing at him from the bar. They obviously found his fear amusing. 

"This isn't what I expected," shouted Sanaz over the music, as she watched Faith wave a waitress over. 

"What is it Chocalate, too rough for, ya?" asked Faith amused. "Don't worry, most of them are typical male types. All bark and no bite. Nobody is gonna bother you unless you're lookin' for a fight. Everyone in this place is here to have fun." 

"What about all the fightin'?" asked Marcus, his eyes darting from the packed dance floor onto three demons duking it out at the bar. That was the third fight to explode since they'd been here. Seemed one broke out almost every five minutes. Faith smiled at the display, as the rest of the bar hollered, encouraging the group.

"It's all part of the ride," she answered. "They're demons, you know. Most of them consider violence as a form of entertainment. I don't blame them, it's not without its charms." She cracked her neck in a similar fashion as they'd all seen Xander do over the years. 

"So you're saying they're not evil?" asked Katrina, visibly puzzled. "They're doing it just for kicks?"

"Sure thing Vanilla," answered Faith. "Sort of an understanding here in this club. By the by, don't stare anybody in the eyes for too long, sort of flags that you wanna go, you get? Anyway, you have to understand that demons aren't all evil, they're just different species with different cultures, you know. Some are more warrior-like than others, some are whiny, some are down right serial killer like. We got a bit of all in here, but everyone keeps on their toes. Check your problem at the door type deal. So don't ulcer over it too much, but don't get careless either."

"I still can't believe I've never heard of this place before. I mean a demon bar smack down into the middle of Chelsea! This is insane!" commented Gabe as a scantily dressed waitress strolled over to Faith. 

"Two Guiness and a bottle of whiskey; ten shot-glasses," said Faith, slipping the girl several twenties into her bra, caressing the redhead skin with the back of her hand, then turning back to the gang. "What are you guys gettin'?" They all ordered one after the other, Faith picking up the tab. The waitress strutted away, throwing a sexy look over her shoulder at Faith, who reciprocated with a flirty smile. The boys at the table raised an eyebrow.

"Who's the second Guiness for?" asked Katrina seriously, but careful not to sound as if she had jumped to the conclusion she had.

"Boy Toy. It's his brand, you guys didn't know that?" she asked puzzled.

"Well Xander doesn't really…" started Gabe.

"Xander doesn't drink… Xander can't drink," said Katrina decisively.

"Bahhh!" said Faith, rolling her eyes and waving the comment off. "Don't sweat it Vanilla, thrust me, it's five by five. Plus, I kinda have a gift when it comes to pervertin' men, you know, and when it comes to Xander, it's second nature. "

"How about we use Gramps' private toilet time more lucratively and get down to business," asked Garrett, leaning toward Faith across the table with a wry gin. "Give us the dirt on Xander, start with why you call him Boy Toy and work your way to the more embarrassing details." Faith smiled as everybody leaned closer, their interested wiping away any concern about their surrounding.

"I call AleXander Lavelle Harris that because that's what he is," answered Faith slowly, letting the group marvel at their discovery Xander's middle name. "He's my toy… and probably half this city's female population by now."

"I'm not sure about that," said Gabe. "We haven't seen him go on a date in as long as we've known him." Faith's face showed surprise.

"Really? That doesn't sound like my Xander. I mean, the guy use to go through women faster than he changed shirt when we were together. Regular James Bond. No skanks either, good looking women only."

"Wo," said Marcus, raising his hands in front of him. "Back up, girl. Xander was cheating on you?" 

"Nah, we had an arrangement, you know," Faith tried hard not to sound defensive, "We're just friends, with benefits and no strings attached. I really can't believe he hasn't hit anything since Ireland." She suddenly seemed to have a lump in her throat, her voice subtly become weaker toward the end.

"Maybe he's changed," said Katrina briskly.

"Why don't you tell me, Vanilla? What's he like these days" The whole group pondered upon her question for a moment.

"Well chaste for one thing, but we already addressed that," started Garrett.

"Kind of dark and recluse, doesn't talk much else to make fun of Garrett over there," continued Sanaz. "Very mysterious." 

"Loyal," said slowly Katrina. "Very loyal. Quiet and sad. Nice guy." The girl liked him and Faith made quick note of that.

"And then there's this new trend of the killing of demons, and generally creeping us out, with Terminator type behavior," finished Marcus. Faith shook her head a moment, thinking over the description.

"Xander's buried somewhere under there, sounds like it anyway," said Faith. "When I first met him, about six or seven years ago, the guy was in his last year of high school and he was kind of a dork/goofball. But sweet, you know, and loyal, very loyal. That's one thing that never changed about him, that and the sense of humor. Then, we lost touch after I popped his cherry, I spend a year in a coma and then the next in jail."

"You were in jail, what for?" asked Sanaz, voicing eveyone's question.

"Murder," said Faith as simply as she could. It was hard not to show how much talking about it upset her, but she was good at hiding her problems. She tried to continue recounting Xander's past, but was slowed down by the group's expect reaction of disbelief.

"You're kidding," said Gabe his face almost changing color. "You killed someone?"

"Yep," said Faith simply, her eyes staring down at the table. "But I'll tell you all about it later. To finish what I was sayin', when Boy Toy and me met up again, he changed, or rather he started changing. The Xander I remember was dark, but also loud and impulsive. He was confident, wicked dangerous and a bit too courageous. It was party or violence for him, and I never knew which one he preferred. Lots of women, lots of booze and drugs. The open highway, wind in our hair. And though he was always nice to his friends, for as long as I've known him, I would never call him a nice guy; when he wants to be, he's the meanest s.o.b on the planet."

"That doesn't sound like Xander," said Katrina, looking annoyed.

"Maybe you guys don't know him very well. I mean he does keep his past from you, and I don't blame him. Hell, Vanilla, if you really knew Xander, if you knew the things he's done and the things he's capable of, you probably wouldn't like him much." 

"I don't believe that," said Katrina briskly, "Xander's our friend. We might not know about his past, but I don't think you'll find someone at this table that doubt that deep down inside Xander is a good man." Faith shrugged and turned away toward the dance floor, leaning casually against the back of her chair.

"Then what is doing with an ex-felon like me?" asked Faith, her eyes fixed on the crowd. Somehow, the question didn't sound totally rhetorical. There was a long awkward pause, as everyone pondered upon Faith's words, trying to piece what they knew of the mystery that was Xander Harris.

"What about the scar, the and the burns/tattoos?" asked Garrett. "How did get those?" Faith suddenly snapped out of her trance and became uncharacteristically serious, in an awkward kind of way.

"Well, I don't think Xander would be five by five with me telling you that. It's kinda of a big no no; and I wouldn't bring it up to him if I was you. Xand has his reasons for keepin' to himself, he's had a lot of pain in his life. Doesn't shock me much if he's all broody like you said… lots of pain." She seemed to drift off as her eyes went back to the living swarm of bodies that was the dance floor. She was as a wolf, hearing the call of the wild.

"Enough about California," said Marcus cheerily, trying desperately to liven up a conversation that had slowly spiraled into a depressed silence. "I wanna know all about, you girl. Where you from? How d'you get involved into this whole demon thing, and more importantly, what was that thing about non-exclusivity you mentioned?"

"I'm from Boston," she smiled at Marcus amused, "Sorry to say, but I don't sleep around with Xander's friend's, question of respect, you know?" Marcus and Garrett snapped their fingers almost simultaneously, earning a chuckle from Faith. "That and you still have to be this tall, to take this ride," she continued jokingly as she extend both her hands forward at roughly eight inches apart.

Suddenly Faith jumped to her feet as the sound of a wire brush, rhythmically pounding on cymbals announced the beginning of her favorite song. A smile spread on her face.

"I'll be back," she said, heading toward the dance floor as a distorted voice, an old crackling recording set to the background noise of an old style horror movie, vibrated a question throughout the club. "Who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead." 

There was a pause.

Faith standing still on the edge of the dance floor, waiting for it. A snap shot, frozen with tension in a stroboscopic flash.

Only a second, and then the whole club answered in unison as Rob Zombie's electrically distorted voice came pulsing "Livin' Dead Girl!"

Faith broke into a dance as the song began. Her hips swaying. Her hands caressing her body. Her hair flying around as she spun and turned. A few guys making their approach as Garrett, Gabe, and Marcus stared in awe and lust.

Her fingers drummed nervously onto the wooden desk. There was little echo in the room, not that it normally lacked it, but rather because the wood was soft and rotten underneath her bony fingers. Everything in the room seemed putrid, even more so than it was a week ago when she moved into the second floor of the abandoned building. Even the plants she had bought and placed near the chemistry set on the western wall, had rotten away; their green leaves turning black, almost overnight. She looked at the steel operating table in the middle of the large room, trays of instruments lied near it. Everything showed sign of rust; it was unbelievable. It was as if she had the taint of death about her and all she touched soon became infected with it.

She looked at her hands, the white wrappings she had covered them with only a few days ago were now yellow and brittle, unwrapped. She must look like a leper or a mummy, the kind they saw in horror films, she thought. Then again, she supposed she had become something like that. 

She went to the window, the floor sounded as it might give under her weight. Outside were the streets of Hell's Kitchen. Graffitied walls and dusty pavements, it still was nowhere close what she had expected. The Clinton neighborhood, just west of Time Square, was not far from the crime ridden hell hole that it's nickname suggested. Suddenly, Layla caught her reflection in the window pane before her. She froze, her eyes fixed on her deformed features. She used to be beautiful. So beautiful.

"Boss," said a voice from the door way. She turned slowly, meeting gaze with one of the vampires under her employment.

"Have you found him yet?" she asked, her voice was sad, but at the same time hollow.

"Not yet, sorry. But I brought you the other thing you requested," his hands pulled on something from the hallway and produced a little boy, no more than ten. He was dressed in dirty clothes and was obviously homeless. He shook in terror but made no attempt to cry for help. Layla could see the horror in his eyes as he took in her baroque appearance, before forcing himself to stare at the ground. She felt disgust.

"He's just a boy," she wanted to sound angry.

"We caught, what we caught," the vampire shrugged his shoulders. "If you don't want him, no sweat. Jason is still a little hungry."

"No!" she said quickly, moving across the room as she did. She waived the vampire off, grabbing a hold of the boy's jacket. She led him forward into the middle of the room; his back to her.

"My name is Carlito," said the boy, his voice trembling. There was only silence. He tried to turn his head to see what she was doing, but she forced his head forward with her other hand. She was very close to him. One of her hand twirling his air playfully, then caressing the soft skin of her face.

The hunger.

The disgust.

The terrible hunger.

"I'm sorry Carlito," she said, snapping the boy's neck in a swift, painless motion. Tears slid down the numerous crevasses of her face as she lowered herself down, kneling over the young boy. She cried for a moment as she looked into his lifeless eyes. She held on as long as she could, before the hunger overtook her and she ripped into the young boy's body. She was a vile animal, devouring her prey savagely.

It looked as if the boys' eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. They licked their lips, studying carefully everyone of Faith's sexy moves. She was gorgeous, but on the dance floor, she was a goddess. She had rhythm in her blood and moves that made everyman in the bar whish her hands were theirs. Three guys surrounded her and she used them alternatively, pressing her body against one. Dancing with him for a moment, smiling sexily, whispering flirty things in his ear, making him think for a moment he might get lucky tonight. Then pulling away toward the next, throwing the occasional suggestive glance toward the boys at the table.

"She's not that attractive," said Katrina dryly to Sanaz. Her statement quickly transformed itself into a question, as her confidence wavered, "She's not… right?" Sanaz stared back at her friend's eyes, they reflected a hint of despair. She hesitated for a moment.

"Of course not, hon. She's… she's trashy. Trashy peuh!!! She's an oversexed Gothic freak. No man in his right mind would touch her. She's Typhoid Mary-ish."

"God, do I want her," said Marcus exasperatedly, totally oblivious to their conversation. The girls turned toward him in time to see Garrett punch him on the shoulder, forcing Marcus to let out a small groan.

"Back off! She's mine. We have a rapport. She said she liked me," said Garrett, smiling confidently.

"Guys, This is Xander's girl, end of discussion," interrupted Gabe seriously before a small grin appeared on his lips. "Of course, I'm second choice though." The trio of male exploded in an argument involving who would have the greatest amount of chances with her as well as a grim evaluation of each other's masculinity. Katrina sighed while Sanaz smiled at her sympathetically.

"Don't worry, hon," said Sanaz as she laid a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll figure something out."

"I want her, I want her, I want her," said Marcus, imitating a small kid.

"You and everyman in this bar," added Garrett. Katrina shoulder slumped forward as the distraught grew on her face.

"Will you guys shut up!" said Sanaz, her eyes glowing with anger. Marcus retreated as Garrett stuck a napkin onto a knife and waved the makeshift flag as a peace offering.

"Sorry, I think it's just… we're a little shocked that Xander, could get a girl like that," responded Gabe apologetically.

"I see Faith caught you guys' eyes," said Xander, popping out of nowhere and sitting down on his chair. He had a grin on his face. "I'd watch out if I were you boys, she's easy on the eye but she's hard on the heart. She'll chew you guys out for breakfast if you let her, she'll do it just for kicks too."

"Doesn't bother you the way she flirts like that with everybody?" asked Sanaz, throwing a quick glance at Katrina, expressing the true intent of her question.

"Nah," said Xander, his eyes falling on Faith's gracious form over at the dance floor, her arms sliding on a young man's muscular chest. Xander felt a tinge of jealousy, but he quickly repressed it. "She's a tease, that's who she is, if I had a problem with that, I wouldn't be friends with her. Take notice that I emphasize the word friends."

"Yeah, she told us about your 'arrangement' you magnificent bastard," said Garrett. "Or maybe I should call you playboy, I mean she did mention you get around." Xander squinted, a theatrical look of anger on his features. 

"I'm gonna kill her," he said simply, his eyes falling on the Guiness in front of him. "Whose this for?" He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. It slid quickly across the back of his neck as he turned to watch Faith, slump into the chair next to his.

"It's yours Boy Toy," she said simply. She paused a moment as Xander prepared to protest. "What? You forgot how it works? You're supposed to drink it. I don't need to recap that process with you, do I?" She raised an eyebrow as Xander looked exasperated, yet amused. 

"Faith, I don't drink anymore, sorry."

"Really?" said Faith slyly, accepting a challenge he had not intended to pose. She quickly reached for his drink, her fingers wrapping around the pint as she swung one of her leg around Xander's. He smiled coyly as he watched her straddle down onto his lap. They were face to face, the black pint serving as the only buffer between their lips; she was sure of herself.

"I know how to make little boys swallow their pill," she said cunningly before bringing the pint to her lips, letting only a snifter of bear slip through. She did not swallow, only smiled at Xander as she grabbed on firmly to the back of his head. She lunged in toward Xander's lips with an unnecessary aggression, as he made no attempt to resist. They locked in a kiss for a moment. When Faith pulled back, pride was drawn all over her features. She nudged the drink toward him.

"So what do you say, Cowboy?" said Faith, Xander watching her intently but careful not to show any reaction of any type. "You comin' for the ride?" Xander never took his eyes off Faith as his hand slowly reached for the pint, and then lowered it to table to her surprise. The wild expression of joy and excitement on her face sipped away into distraught; the color seemed to have been all but drained from her face. There was an expression of fear and confusion beginning to draw itself on her face when she suddenly noticed Xander's hand had not completed its journey. His fingers wrapped themselves around the whiskey bottle as a mischievous smile grew on his lips. Faith shared it as he took a large swig from the bottle, earning a few cheers from everybody at the table with the exception of Katrina who looked as if she were developing an aneurysm.

"Xander!" exclaimed Katrina, her tone almost that of an embarrassed and horrified mother. 

"Relax Katrina," said Xander, taking another swig. "It's five by five."

The metal door creaked on its hinges as it slammed almost violently against the wet brick wall. Laughter came echoing from the inside and followed as Xander stumbled out into the alleyway. He twirled around amidst the steam that escaped through the nearby sewer grates, his arms raised at night sky, his feet sliding on the wet pavement that glistened under the streetlights.

"Wooooou!" he yelled, as the rest of the gang came out the door.Gabe and Garrett supported Marcus as he could barely keep on his feet.Sanaz and Katrina walked out next, the first seeming tipsy and the second concerned about Xander's behavior. Faith came strolling last, fresh and quite content by the evening. She turned around toward the two hunks that had followed her and her friends all the way over to the entrance of the club. 

"Call me, boys," said Faith, her hand sliding down one of the guys' immense bicep. The two very disappointed man waved goodnight to her as she closed the door and turned back to Xander who hanged by one arm from the balcony of a fire escape.

"You know, I bet I could take her," whispered Katrina to Sanaz. "She doesn't look that though." Sanaz laughed, shaking her head approvingly. She raised her hand, inviting a high-five that Katrina promptly executed.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. You should drink more often," said Sanaz. "It brings out the wild in you, look at Xander. Anyway, I got your back sista, you just do your move and we'll tag team her to the ground." They laughed together, none of them taking their private discussion seriously.

"Well that was a slow night," said Faith to Xander. "Of course, I guess you can be forgiven, with you being out of practice and all." Xander dropped from his perch, smiling as he did. They slowly started progressing toward the exit of the alley and toward 34th street, Faith bringing up the rear as Gabe expressed his disbelief.

"Slow?!! The guy downed more alcohol than us three together."

"Yeah, but Xand's a season professional, you guys are still batting for the minors."

"Practice is the key," said Xander, uncannily in control of his action for a moment.

"Faith," said Marcus, raising his head, his speech heavily slurred. "You're… you're cool. No, I mean it, you're the coolest girl I know. You keep it real" She laughed at the comment.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sanaz, feigning being hurt. 

"Thanks, Shorty. Wicked nice of ya, but I think you're upsetting Chocolate over there, you know."

"Hey, how come you're so fresh, you were matching drink all night with Gramps?" asked an intrigued Garrett. Faith opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Xander.

"Well my homegirl's seasoned too… in more than one way, but let's not get back to that. She also happen to have the constitution of an elephant, alcohol doesn't affect her senses much." Xander's expression of pride and overall happiness shifted to concern as he watched a thug suddenly pounce out of nowhere and wrap his arm around Faith's throat, holding her tight from behind. He was accompanied by four other thugs, all of whose fashion sense indicated to Xander that these five were about to grow teeth. Faith let out a small groan as she was pulled backwards, bringing about the attention of the entire gang. 

Everyone jumped back, terror stricken as they watched the thug holding Faith growl and metamorphose to his vampiric features. The terror did not come from seeing the vampire as they had seen and killed a few over the past few weeks, but rather from the predicament they saw their new friend in . Garrett and Gabe started advancing, letting poor Marcus fall painfully on the ground. Xander waved to them to hold their place, an amused look on his face as Faith seemed embarrassed by the situation.

"'Much' might have been a bit of an exaggeration, Boy Toy," she said, making no attempt yet to break out of the situation. The vampire tightened his one-hand grip on her throat, forcing her to cough, she immediately looked annoyed, but Xander made a discreet gesture for her to wait.

"Shut up bitch!" yelled the vampire, before pointing toward Xander. "You're Harris, the demon hunter!"

"I'm sorry I can't give you any points, you forgot to formulate your answer in the form of a question," said Xander jokingly as well as very calm.

"Xander!" said Gabe, shocked by his nonchalant attitude. Xander signed to him again to hold.

"Another crack like that, and your friend is gonna have a hard time breathing. I want the medallion, I want it now and you're gonna give it to me."

"No problem," said Xander shrugging his shoulders. The vampires were suddenly all very puzzled and embarrassed, looking at each other in confusion.

"You're just gonna give it," asked the lead vampire, "I mean, you know, I mean give permanently, no loans or anything like that?"

"Yeah, no prob. You're holding all the cards, you're obviously a very smart vampire, a force to be reckoned with. Mastervampire breed if you ask me," continued Xander. "but before I hand it to you, I really would like to know the name of the criminal mastermind that defeated me?" The vampire was almost red with embarrassment, the flattery going quickly to his head. His small gang, started to get excited, giddy like school kids almost as they slapped each other on the arm approvingly.

"Edge, name's Edge," he said, his voice full of pride and bravado as unbeknownst to him, Faith rolled her eyes.

"Well Edge," continued Xander. "Now that were pal, I feel it would be impolite of me not to introduce my friend you're holding over there. So Edge, I'd like you to meet Faith… the slayer." Xander was smiling. Edge wasn't anymore as the confidence drained quickly from all the vampire's face. Faith's hand slapped itself close around Edge's wrist and the latter watched helplessly as Faith slowly pulled away his hand from her throat. He attempted to resist, but his arm kept traveling away, shakily but uninterrupted in its ascent. Faith turned her head slowly toward Edge, a smile on the corner of her lips.

"Don't worry hon, happens to lots of guys," she said jokingly, pausing a second before spinning around in front of the gang's disbelieving eyes, and plunging a stake she hid in the back of her leather coat into Edge's heart. No sooner than the cloud of dust settled that she launched a powerful sidekick to the closest vamp, sending the hapless thing flying three feet in the air and then crashing violently into a brick wall. 

Faith jerked as one of the vamps blindsided her with a kidney punch. The blow barely slowed her down as she turned to face her adversary, soon to be adversaries as another vamp joined his buddy in the attack. Xander held his position, motioning his friends to do the same. 

"Watch this," he said cheerily as he observed Faith blocking and dodging a barrage of punches and kicks. They had her back to the wall now, but her confidence was unshaken. She blocked two more punches from the vamp on her left, a kick from the one on the right, and then ducked under a third punch from the one n the left. The enthusiastic vampire buried his fist deep into the brick wall, sending a jolt of pain through his arm milliseconds before Faith's stake found it's way to his heart. In the same fluid motion, she dropped, slipping under another kick from the vamp on her right. She span, through the falling dust, sweeping the vamp's one grounded leg. 

No sooner that the vamp hit the ground then Faith spotted another dashing toward her, attempting a shoulder rush. Without loosing a second she jumped up and grabbed with one hand onto the fire escape balcony above her, and swung herself above and clear of the vamp's path, kicking the back of his head as she did. The vamp went crashing into the wall, soon bursting into dust as Faith landed behind him and put an end to his bloodsucking days.

"Whoa!" said Marcus, watching the fight from the ground. Everyone else was frozen in amazement.

Meanwhile the vamp that used to be on her right, had gotten to his feet and rushed her, successfully making her back away a few feet with a powerful shoulder tackle, but failing to knock her down. Needless to say, the vamp, his arms still wrapped around Faith's midsection, received a few powerful knee strikes to the face for his trouble, sending him staggering backwards just enough for Faith to grab an hold of his shoulders, and letting herself fall backward, pushing him off with her feet, throw him into a bunch of garbage cans. 

The sound of small wheels, rolling rapidly toward her on the wet asphalt pavement caught Faith's attention. She snapped her head to the side, witnessing a large green dumpster hurling toward her. She flipped herself to her feet, seeing the vamp she'd sidekicked at the beginning of the fight standing a few feet behind the now dangerously close dumpster. She coiled her leg high, the knee touching her shoulder. She then bounced off her back leg and delivered the most powerful push kick she could muster, grunting loudly as she did. The green metal dented under her foot, before the large projectile went spinning back toward the now terrified vamp at twice the speed it was traveling before. He had no time to dodge and simply shrieked as it crushed him against the wall. As the dumpster bounced off of him, he fell to the ground in pain.

Faith smiled, proud of herself, swaying her hips for a moment before hearing a roar coming from her left. She turned and sighed as she saw the other vamp, stumbling out of the trash. He roared once more at her, slapping oozy trash from his shoulder and his hair.

"When are you vamps gonna learn," said Faith, as the vamp started rushing toward her again. "Rushing doesn't work." As the vamp got to her level, she aptly span out sideways, changing the stake from one hand to the other as she did, and then plunged the stake in the vampire's back as he ran past her. She faced the other direction and never turned around as he burst into dust, confident and knowing her stake had found its mark. She straightened up and dusted herself off, turning to face a little crowd of admirers.

"What do you think, Boy Toy? Still got it." Her gloating was quickly interrupted by a groan coming from behind the dumpster. Faith shook her head exasperatedly.

"Hold on a minute," she said to the gang as she ran toward the dumpster and rolled on top of it, disappearing as she fell behind. There were brief sounds of struggle before the loud echo of a vampire being dusted. Faith's head suddenly popped up from behind the dumpster, over which she then leaned. Everyone was breathless with wonderment.

"Gee," she said smiling at Xander, "fightin' those vamps, really's got me wound up." 

The street was as empty as the night sky. It drizzled a bit, as it had done irregularly all evening. The vampire sniffed the air for a moment, there was a scent, but it led nowhere. His eyes scanned around as his companion caught up with him.

"Jack," said the second vampire as he now stood next to the first. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. I lost the trail."

"What do you mean you lost the trail? You can't just loose the trail."

"Don't start with me, Terence."

"Well, you're certainly in a bad mood."

"I'm in a bad mood 'cause you're pissing me off."

"Oh, that's right, blame me. It's obviously my fault that you lost the trail of a gimp."

"You know, you can be a real bitch sometimes, Terence."

"That's it! I'm going home," said Terence, turning around and walking briskly back the way he had come. Jacked sighed heavily, and went after the other vamp.

"Wait! C'mon, you're overreacting."

"Oh really? Oh really? We'll see whose overreacting when we get home…" As the pair walked off, their feet drummed heavily on the metal of a sewer manhole cover.

The sound echoed down inside the manhole in which a man in his early thirties, jerked nervously, almost falling down the shaft as it reached his ears,. He readjusted himself, wrapping his arm around one of the aged ladder rungs. Jonahs then proceeded to place back the cell phone in position against his ear, silently thanking God he hadn't dropped it some 40 feet below onto the swarm of rats that awaited impatiently for anything to devour.

"Yes," he whispered. "Rupert… I believe they're gone now. (Pause) Okay, Harris, Bronx. I got it. (Pause) No, don't call him first; I'd rather talk to him myself. (Pause) Yes, thanks a lot Rupert, you're a life saver." The man hung up the phone, sighing as he did. Suddenly, the rusted ring his feet rested on gave way and Jonahs was abruptly suspended only by his right arm. As his body jerked under the shock, the cell phone went plummeting down below into the swarm of rats, which squeaked happily at the gift from above. Johnas shook his head as he found new footing. 

"Love sucks!"

There was a large thud as Xander's back slammed into the wall next to his room. Faith pushed her body hard against his, their lips intertwined for a long moment. There was no time to breath, no pause in the dance they shared in the darkened hallway. There were only their hands, caressing each other aggressively. Faith's mouth slipped from the embrace, quickly kissing its way toward Xander's neck, stopping only a second to nibble on his earlobe. Xander let out a small moan, trying not to wake the rest of the house as he buried his nose into Faith's air, the scent intoxicating even through traces of cigarette smoke and alcohol. 

Everyone was asleep. They had continued the party at the house, drinking until only Faith and Xander were standing; Gabe and Katrina had went to bed some ten minutes ago. The whole night, Faith and Xander had moved closer to each other, truly warming up to their reunion. The more drinks, the flirtier and evermore affectionate they became. And now there they were, his room only a few feet away, his bed, only a few more. 

Her skin was so soft, her touch so perfect and skilled. Their lips met again as Faith, slipped off her leather jacket, throwing it away without a care for what became of it. Her hungry lips returned quickly onto his neck. Xander lowered his head, kissing gently her bare shoulder. Her taste, so real, just like he remembered but oh so real. God he wanted her again. They both raised their head instinctively, falling into another passionate kiss. They rolled off the wall, ever torward Xander's door, Faith still pinning Xander against the hallway wall. Her hand searched frantically for the doorknob as he went to work on her neck. Xander listened to the door creaking on its hinges as it opened and thought strangely that it was the sweetest of heavenly music.

And then Faith pulled away. He could see her face in the electric streetlight that seeped in though Xander's window. Her faced moved slowly up and down as her chest heaved, she breathed heavily as he did. He could see her eyes, her beautiful eyes, shining with lust and desire. They scanned his face as Xander's own stopped over her mouth. She was smiling, but there was something there, something that sent Xander's mind racing back to what once was.

The breeze was gentle and cool as waves flung themselves harmoniously against the side of the cliff. The sound of the small fair, a sweet cacophony, just down the slope. Lorena McKennit's voice, vibrating throughout the night sky as she sung "Kellswater". Faith stood barefoot in the high grass before him, dressed in a simple gray dress, with a long brown skirt. Borrowed clothes that looked perfect, that seemed to belong on her. The stars shone gently on her untouched features, untouched by make-up of any kind. Faith smiled sweetly at Xander, her eyes fleeing quickly toward the ground. She swayed, shifting nervously her weight from one foot to the other. There was a long moment of silence, Xander lost in the vision of beauty before him. She raised a hand toward Xander, her eyes following shyly; she invited him to approach with a finger.Xander, dressed in his thick gray cotton shirt and his brown corduroy pants, complied, kicking off his shoes and slipping of his socks.

Slowly, Xander took hold of Faith's hand, their fingers intertwining. His other hand sliding to her hip, as she hesitantly laid her head on his shoulder. Their bodies began rocking unhurriedly as they danced to McKennit's voice. Their hearts racing as they moved together on the cliff near Portmamock. Xander spun Faith around, so her back was to him; she closed her eyes.He wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her neck tenderly as they kept dancing. Her hand caressed his face, sending pleasant shiver down his spine. As Xander closed his eyes, he heard her moan, but moan in a soft way she never had before, her body quivering to his touch. The wind blew softly, as they kept dancing to the melodies of "Kellswater". 

Faith smile grew into a large grin as she pulled a transparent plastic bag holding white powder. 

"Now we can really start the party," she said brazenly, not noticing Xander's changed expression. She leaned back in kissing him on the mouth, moving on quickly to his neck as his lips remained still. After a moment, Xander gently pushed her back. She was utterly confused by the gesture, and stared blankly at an embarrassed Xander.

"Wait, I don't think this is such a good idea," said Xander. Faith could believe what he was saying, but was slightly relieved.

"No prob," she said smiling, sliding back the bag of cocaine into her jeans, "We'll just do without the cocaine." She started leaning back in, but was stopped by Xander, who kept her at arms length. Suddenly, the confusion grew into fear and a boiling anger.

"No Faith," he said apologetically, "I mean this… this isn't a good idea."

"What? Youkiddin' right?" her tone was becoming agitated. "What? Did your dick fall off all of a sudden?"

"Faith, I just don't think…" His response was cut short, as Faith violently slapped his hands off her shoulders and pointed to him in an angry manner he interpreted as his cue to shut up. She turned around, half-pacing for a second as she bit angrily on her lip. She shook her head in disbelief, her breathing accelerating out of anger. Suddenly she swung a powerful right toward Xander, who simply clenched his eyes awaiting the blow, his face half turned out of fear, but by no mean attempting to dodge. 

There was no pain, only a large crushing noise, or was it cracking? Xander opened his eyes to find surprisingly that Faith's fist was buried deep into the wall next to his head. He looked at it for a second; not knowing for sure whether Faith had missed on purpose or rather anger had blurred her aim. She pulled it out and got real close to Xander, her face attitude and anger.

"Nobody likes a tease, Lavelle," 

Faith then headed decisively into Xander's room, slipping off her blue tank top over her head as she did. Xander found himself pressed against the door frame, staring at Faith's bare back, searching for something to say.

"Listen, I…" he said, interrupted once again as Faith spun around, covering her breasts with one arm, throwing the tank top onto Xander's face. It hanged there for a second, as Xander's only uncovered eye shot her an annoyed look. 

"Close the door, will ya? No playin', no peepin'," said Faith, tapping her foot as she waited for him to do as she asked

Xander finally pulled down the tank top of his face and threw it back at her.

"Fine! Good night, Faith."

He closed the door as he exited, and paced angrily for a moment, until hearing the door lock. He abruptly came to a sudden realization.

"Hey! It's my room! Open up!" Xander stood in front of his door for a while, but no response ever came, even after knocking loudly on it a few times. He sighed and resigned himself, walking down the stairs toward the living room couch, not having the heart to go in the basement to Annie's old room. He couldn't sleep in that bed, especially tonight. Enough memories for one evening, enough women.

_Chi._ _I am the mountain. I am the earth. I shall let its strength flow through me. Violence is pointless._

_ _

Everything was in slow motion. His breath was heavy and quite audible. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing his ears perceived at the moment. A broken erratic movement he danced to, an occasional reverberating clash joining in with the pain that accompanied it. The pupils of his eyes were contracting, sweat trickling down his eyebrows. He swore to himself mentally, fear chipping away at his confidence. He raised his hands recognizing the combination that was coming. The hooks she threw crashed hard against his forearms, but he figured it was better than his head. He quickly stepped out to the left, smiling as her left leg delivered a front kick into the empty air, and that's were he realized his mistake. Leaving her leg hanging in the air, she spun horizontally, her back leg swinging in a wide vertical arc, catching his jaw with her heel. His head snapped back violently as stars filled his vision for a moment. His body plummeted down as hers at already hit the cold wet grass beneath their bare feet.

Faith was sparring hard today. She was naturally aggressive, but there was no mistaken, she wasn't pulling any punches this morning. Xander unfortunately had no time to ponder on the thought as the gray sky was quickly obstructed by Faith's foot, coming down on his face like God's wrath. 

"No sleeping," she said.

Xander rolled out of the way of the blow, as well as several similar ones that followed. He finally managed to pounce to his feet and raise his guard in time to deflect a three-punch combination she threw relentlessly at him.

"Faith, maybe we have to go over the light sparring concept again," he said timidly backing away as she pressed her attack.

Marcus, Gabe and Katrina watched the fight from their back porch. Xander's gray sweat suit was dark and damp from sweat, the pants stained grass-green from the many time he had hit the ground over the last half hour. Faith on the other hand, looked rather fresh, even though a small film of sweat graced all of her skin, a lot of which was exposed. She wore only a dark sports bra and black shorts. Marcus failed not to take noticed of how cold it was outside, as he licked his lips at the delectable sight before him and placed the icepack he was carrying back on his forehead.

"Man," he said referring to the kung fu show in his back yard, "This is sick."

"I know," responded Katrina. "She really shouldn't be hitting him that hard." Xander's face was starting to swell as he showed sign of bruising on the right side of his jaw, and blood trickled from a small cut above his left eyebrow. Marcus shook his head, pain striking with every movement.

"No baby girl," he responded. "I mean them. It's sick how they drank us all under the table and now they're fresh and fightin' it out for fun. No hangover, no nothin'. It's sick."

"Yeah!" yelled Gabe enthusiastically at Faith, "Kill him!"

Faith's fist found it's way to Xander's face once again, sending him spinning into the wooden fence. He paused only for a millisecond, his face pressed against the damp wood. He grunted, the pain incredible, his eyes were fixed onto a dotted line of blood on the fence. It had sprayed itself there from his mouth, as he had been spun around like a rag doll under the blow. 

"When in doubt, panic," said Hojiro in calm and serious voice, his eyes confident that this answered his question. Xander was frozen in disbelief, his mouth wide open as he stood in his training gear in the middle of the small dusty warehouse. He attempted several times to start saying something and finally came out with the most sensible thing to say.

"No seriously," said Xander, "I don't think curling into a ball and praying for a quick death is what I should keep as a back-up plan." Hojiro shrugged.

"I don't know, Xander. It never came up."

"Wait, you mean you've never came to point in a fight when you don't know what to do to defeat an opponent?"

"No. You should just follow the dance Xander, it'll lead you to your opponent's death."

"See that's the problem, I don't want to kill her, I just want to beat her senseless. You see, I'm talking about Buffy, just once I'd like to beat her at sparring. Just crush her with my manly strength and laugh gallantly at her effort before she embraces me with admiration and hereby insert scene of gratuitous friend sex or cheating-I'm gonna-kill-you-time, as Anya would put it." 

"So what is it you're asking me exactly?"

"How do I beat somebody who's stronger and faster than me, as well as possesses more endurance?"

"That's easy, kill her." Xander started becoming visibly annoyed as he felt the conversation moving in circles.

"No, I thought we covered the aversion to killing my best friend."

"Xander, I didn't mean it quite as literal as I made it sound. Just messing with you by the way. I'm sorry, but I don't believe you can beat her. The fact is, you should be trying to kill her, and you should stop yourself at the last second, but you're not gonna do that. You still act as if sparring's a game Xander, it's not, it's a poetry of death, but you still refuse to see that. It's the very reason why you haven't defeated her or me yet, you just need to start taking it seriously."

"Yeah, big help that was" Xander told himself sarcastically as he ducked and rolled, just in time to dodge Faith's fist that continued its journey and pierced through the wooden plank where his head had been.

"You've slowed down Boy Toy, what's wrong? Not been practicin'?" she said pausing only a second before she resumed her attack. Xander deflected the first two punches, blocked the roundhouse and suddenly took the offensive, snap kicking her in the stomach. She stepped back with the blow as he pounced forward with three punches.

"Why do I get a feeling you're working out some aggression?" he asked, as she dodged and parried his blows effortlessly.

"What are you talkin' about? Aggression over what?" she asked as one of his jab landed, followed quickly by an equally painful roundhouse to her ribs.

"Gee, I don't know," he said, "You had to get yourself off for the first time in the last 12 years last night, could that be it?" Faith face suddenly boiled of anger. She caught one of Xander's punch and slipped under, elbowing him hard under the armpit. Xander's arm became suddenly, but not surprisingly numb. Faith did not stop her attack there as she elbowed him hard in the face and then twisted his hand into a wristlock, throwinghim violently into the barbecue grill a few feet away. 

She rushed toward Xander who now laid painfully atop the propane tank of the toppled unit. She grabbed onto his sweatshirt, her fist raised high, fury on her features. She was about to send Xander into a coma, but stopped as he raised the one arm he could still operate, and signaled to her he conceded.

"Okay, I've had enough," he said. "Sorry about the last bit."

She backed away swaying her hips. She smiled now, as a very much bruised Xander pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his paralyzed arm, swaying from dizziness. 

"Sometimes, I really wish I hadn't taught you some of those moves," he said as she rolled her eyes.

"Whine, whine, whine. That's all you ever do, Harris. You're turning into a regular Deadboy." Xander squinted at her as she raised her hands apologetically. 

"Sorry, won't use the D-word again," she retracted, more amused than sorry, even sliding one of her thumb discreetly from her mouth to her throat, as if she were scratching. "Plus, you know why you lost, you're not fightin' to win, while all I'm doin' is tryin' to lay one on your ass." 

"Hey, I'm not the one who should be worried about that, Faith. You ever think I might actually mope the floor with you if we went at it for real?"

"Yeah," she said, her tone encouraging Xander's ego at first, "when I'm wicked high, always have a laugh about it in the mornin' though."

Suddenly, Xander reached for his head mid-laughter, now cringing in pain. Grunting as he fell to his knees. Faith looked annoyed at the display as his three friends came running across the yard.

"Yeah, yeah. Quit faking Boy Toy, I didn't hit you that hard… Boy Toy… Xander?"

Flashes. Pain. Incredible pain. A thirst, a hunger, impossible to fulfill

A couple in bed, laughing, messing around. Their voice an echo. The woman, tall, slender, refined. A living masterpiece of classical beauty. Her image suddenly blurred, frozen imperfectly for a moment, her young muscular lover pressing his mouth against her, her hands frozen on his tanned Hispanic skin.

Her face alone now, staring straight at him from an ethereal mist. Her eyes were breathtaking, they were daggers of beauty ripping at any man's soul. There was sadness in them, a terrible sadness that cried to Xander's heart to shatter. Suddenly, the light dimmed and her face started falling apart, withering away, blackening and contorting in the space of a few seconds. Her face was now a horrible dream, a nightmare best forgotten, leaving only her eyes untouched. Two pools of pure beauty in which he whished he could loose himself, swimming for all eternity. A piercing shriek escaped her lips.

The knife, a bloody knife. Guilt, horrible guilt.

A Caucasian male in his early thirties, hair thinning, small potbelly, spectacles. A man pursued, running away, breathless. Want. Loneliness. Need to belong. Such loneliness, such jealousy.

Suddenly, unbearable heat came rushing at him, just as if he were burning alive. Something was different now, something was wrong. Ethereal flames filled his vision and then the baroque shaped skull before him, flames flowing out of it's left eye socket. Asmodeus face. Hatred, pure hatred. 

"What's wrong? Why are you still there?" it asked in its deep echo of a voice, scratchy and vibrating, like the sound of a thousand voices screaming in pain combined as one. But his voice slowly transformed itself as he spoke, becoming softer and human, smoky, familiar. "Don't you know I'm waitin' for you, Boy Toy?"

"What do you mean wait a few minutes?" said Faith angrily as she grabbed Gabe by the shirt. "His fuckin' heart ain't beatin'! Either you get on the phone right now, or you're gonna join him!"

"Maybe if you hadn't been trying so hard to crush his skull in, maybe then we would be having this discussion, you psycho skank!" yelled Katrina as she check Xander for a pulse and positioned his head for mouth to mouth. 

"Don't start with me V, I'm wicked close to popping somebody right now," said Faith as she resumed pacing nervously around, her hand running through her wet hair. She stopped an stared at Xander from afar, Gabe wasn't sure if he could read her correctly but he thought she was actually panicked with fear.

"Ladies calm down," said Gabe. "This is probably just another of Xander's weird episodes thingy."

"What if it's not?" asked Katrina. Gabe was at a lost for an answer, staring at her with an increasing lack of resolve. Suddenly, Marcus came running out of the house, cell phone in hand.

"Yo, somebody's ringing the doorbell, what do I do, You want me to call an ambulance?" 

"No," said Xander groggily, gasping for air between sentences. Everyone took in a breath of relief at the sound of his voice. But you should go answer the door… it's for me." Faith closed her eyes for a second, tanking god silently for the first time in as long as she could remember.

"About six months ago," explained Johnas, sitting nervously on one of the living room couch. He couldn't quite believe that the beaten up young man was the person Rupert Giles had sent him to. "My wife died in a car crash, and… you're sure you're Xander Harris.. I mean, of course you are, but it just you're not what I expected."

"No one ever really is, that's my experience anyway. But I'm Xander Harris. Demons, you serve 'em I grill 'em, so let's get on with the show, what did you do to her?" responded Xander as he placed an icepack on his forehead, Katrina on his left, working away at the cut on his forehead. Faith sat to his right, stretched comfortably in her seat and nonchalantly looking around the room. The rest of the gang roamed about behind them.

"How did you…"

"Same way I knew you were coming, I really don't want to get into it, but I bet your wife at really pretty green eyes."

"Yes, she did. I mean in fact she was a model, Layla Kittridge."

"Whoa," interrupted Sanaz. "Layla! I know her, I was a fan. But wait, I don't remember reading anything about her dying in a car crash, I thought she had disappeared mysteriously or something."

"Well, I had to remove the body from the scene if I wanted to save her," explained Jonahs, staring at the floor, "which was probably not such a good idea when you think about it. Anyway, you have to understand I'm a scientist you see, and I've been studying the process of death all my life and how to hopefully reverse it's effect. Unfortunately, my researched wasn't to the level I required to save her and so, I turned toward the occult, a passion I had taken from Mr. Giles while I was studying at Oxford some years ago."

"Let me guess," interrupted Faith, "You couldn't let go and move on, so instead you performed a resurrection spell… typical male response. All you guys care about is yourselves."

"Why is that so bad," asked a puzzled Gabe, earning an annoyed stare from all the women present. "Whoa, relax guys, I meant the resurrection spell." 

"'Cause there's always a price to pay, New York," answered Xander. "It's usually too high a price to pay, too. That's why they're generally referred to as resurrection curses instead of spells. Death feeds on death, like vampires, they need the blood, the life force of other people to survive."

"I knew that," said Jonahs' readjusting himself in his seat nervously, fidgeting with his glasses and taking an apologetic and desperate appearance."But I needed her, I needed her so bad and I felt so guilty, I just needed her back, you have to understand. I really believed it wasn't gonna go that way. You see, I didn't just perform the ritual, I actually mixed some of my research into it, I thought the right mix of magic and science would negate all the side effects, and I was right… at first."

"I performed the Black Agon Zombie Resurrection spell, but when she woke up, she wasn't a zombie," he continued, speaking frantically, almost on the verge of tears. "She had a mind of her own, I mean she was Layla. Not evil, without any taste for human flesh, emotional, alive. It had worked, she was alive, and then things started to degenerate, her face, her entire body started rotting away, I could barely stand looking at her, and she obviously was disturbed by everything that was happening. And then the psychological change started. First it was jealousy, incontrollable jealousy, she'd think I was having an affair with every women I'd meet, then soon, any that even just looked at me."

"When the hunger begun, that's who she killed first, women, friends of mine, co-workers. Then, she couldn't wait for a fit of jealousy, for me to give her an excuse, she started just killing stranger, people she'd pick up on the street, neighbors, anybody. She'd get these terrible hungers, always for something different, livers, brains, hearts, depended on the day, but always human flesh. At first I could bring her cadavers, then fresh samples from the morgue or from the lab, but that didn't last either, she needed to kill them herself. She was becoming a monster before my very eyes and there was nothing I could do. Then she got it into her mind that I was planning on leaving her, that there was another woman, that I could never love her 'cause she was ugly and the only way for her to have me was.."

"To pork your ass and make you just like her? Just like you deserve?" threw Faith in, having a visible dislike of the man before her. He shook his head shyly in response, swallowing hard as he did.

"Listen, Jonahs," said Xander, carefully wording what he was about to say, "I hope Giles told you this already, but there's not much we can do. Mixing magic and science, you pretty much made it impossible for us to get in there and do some sort of spell or something. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Only too well, Mr.Harris. I don't want there to be any confusion, I know what must be done. She's an inhuman monster, she needs to be stopped," said Jonahs sternly.

"Alright, where do we start, I mean how are we gonna kill her," asked Garrett, straight to the point as always.

"I don't know," answered Xander sarcastically, "I thought I might try violence." Faith chuckled at the comment.

"Sounding more like B. everyday Boy Toy," she said cheerily. That was a mistake and Faith's brain warned her only seconds before she saw Xander's expression become an angry stare. A look of pure hatred, his eyes begged for her blood. Faith receded into her seat, a wave of guilt overflowing her senses; she stared away from Xander and onto the floor. She looked almost like a schoolgirl being yelled at by her teacher.

"Sorry…" she said, cursing herself as she did. "I didn't…" Xander waved to her to shut up, doing so in a manner that seemed a little more violent than he intended. His jaw shifted as he breathed audibly.

"Forget it," he said without looking at her. He then turned his attention toward Jonahs, "So you said she's the jealous type, good. I've got a plan."

"This isn't a good idea," whispered Faith through her transparent throat mike, one of many souvenirs Xander had kept from their special operation days. As she spoke she found herself playing around with the ring on her finger, which she knew to contain a GPS tracking device. "It's never a good idea. Every time we do one of those undercover bait thing, everything always goes horribly wrong and we end up in a shitty situation." She swayed her hips as she walked down 42th street, past Virgin Records and away from Time square. Her arm was wrapped around Jonahs waist, and he didn't seem to mind it one bit, else for the fact that she wouldn't slowdown to accommodate his limp.

"That's not true," Xander's voice came scratchy but audible through her earpiece. "There was that one time… in Munich."

"What are you talking about?" she almost yelled in disbelief. "I was stabbed and beaten to one inch of my life, and they were planning on cooking me when the rescue team arrived!"

"Yes, but on a more important note, I was completely fine," he said to her in an innocent tone. She bit her lips, half wanting to laugh, half wanting to beat him up. As they turned on 9th Avenue, Jonahs pulled himself closer to Faith, who rolled her eyes and grunted in disgust.

"I'm gonna need a shower after this to wipe away the slime." 

"Hey, play your cards right, I might get in with you." She smiled at the idea, still taking notice of the three vampires that had turned the corner after them. No graduates of shadowing school in that bunch. She expected a couple of other vamps to pop out of the alley twenty meters ahead, any time soon.

"Don't worry, I'm the world greatest actress, remember? Speaking of which" she whispered, her and a nervous Jonahs now surrounded. The vampires had their game face on and growled menacingly. Faith touched her forehead theatrically with the back of her hand, letting a convincing "Oh my god" slip through her lips, as she faked swooning into Jonahs' arms.

The Jeep slowed down as it came around the corner, attracting the attention of a few gang members hanging by the steps of a crackhouse. They stared hungrily at the expensive vehicle, dollar signs dancing around before their eyes. They slithered off their seat and started walking hesitantly toward the jeep as it came to a brief screeching halt before quickly accelerating again. Then the process repeated itself a few more times before the eyes of the half puzzled and half amused thugs. The car swerved and jerked as through the plastic window, the thugs could see shadows struggling inside the vehicle.

"Just park the car here," said Xander commandingly between two beeping sounding coming from the handheld GPS device that laid on his lap. Garrett fought arduously for control of the Jeep, Xander making a grab at the wheel, his leg swung over to the driver's side, pressing his foot on the breaks whenever Garrett failed to prevent him. 

"I don't want to park here, they're gonna steal my car," replied Garrett by angry segments. Suddenly, the sound of pistol being cocked and the feeling of cold metal pressed under his chin brought him a new perspective to the whole situation. The Jeep finally came to a full stop.

"They're gonna steal my car, man," repeated Garrett, staring nervously into the rearview mirror at the half dozen thugs walking slowly toward them. "I'm not joking around Gramps, they're coming right now."

"Relax, will you," said Xander as he took a quick look in the passenger side mirror. His attention then went back to the GPS display. The signal was twenty meters NE from his position and about 15 meters off the ground; most device you bought in stores couldn't have told you the ground elevation, but this was after all top military technology at the time Xander "confiscated" it. Third floor of that building, told himself Xander as he stared ahead through pocket size binoculars at a recently closed down edifice. Xander deduced its newly acquired status of vacancy by the lack of graffiti and the fact that most of the dirty windows had yet to be shattered by young delinquents. 

"Gramps, this is Hell's Kitchen, these thugs aren't gonna politely ask us for the keys, if we don't jet soon they're gonna be selling us on the street tomorrow as shish kebab."

"Those guys are really bothering you?" asked Xander, lowering the pistol away from Garrett's throat. The answer came after a moment of confusion, Garrett then bulging his eyes and shaking his body in a manner that indicated the answer was so obvious that the question should not have been asked. Without saying anything Xander opened the door and stepped out.

The Gangbangers were taken by surprise. The smiles and the resolved faces quickly vanished as the dark clothed man exiting the luxury Jeep raised a pistol. Before they could react, he fired. He did so nonchalantly and without really looking, his arm arced at a low angle.

"Get the fuck out of here," said Xander in an exasperated voice, as the sound of bullets ricocheting off the ground sent the whole group running in panic. Their little mob dissipated into the darkness of night leaving Xander sighing in disparagement at the fickle courage that brought mob mentality. After reloading it, he holstered the weapon in the back of his jeans, where he used to keep Faith's knife, and sat back down in the car as if nothing had transpired. Garrett stared in disbelief as Xander calmly unwrapped a small thin black cigar he pulled out of the inner pocket of his leather jacket, and lit it up with a silver lighter.

"You're nuts, you know that," said Garrett, Xander nodding his head slowly in agreement as he inhaled the tobacco fumes. "I mean that was cold, you could have hit someone."

"You'd be surprised how cold I can be Garrett," replied Xander without looking at him. He then nudged his head toward the building he believed Faith to be in, exhaling smoke slowly and audibly as he did. A thick smell of wine and tobacco filled the jeep, a sweet and delicate bouquet that had a strange floral scent to it. "She's in there. Her signal stationary, I'm gonna give her five minute and then I'm moving in." There was a moment of silence, as Garrett looked for something to say.

"So what's up with the cigars?" he asked, the aroma starting to tempt his appetite.

"I dunno, it relaxes me, especially when I'm about to do something I don't really want to, like walking into a house full of vampires. Figured since I was getting back into old habits I might as well go for the full package. Anyway, want one? I stole them off Faith's bag this morning."

"Aren't you afraid she's gonna kick your ass again if she finds out," replied Garrett as he took the cigar Xander handed him. 

"Nah, they were meant for me. They're my brand and Faith doesn't smoke. She probably meant to give them to me as a gift, until I pissed her off that is." Garrett's finger caressed the silver lighter as he took its flame to the cigar. There was an inscription on it, a blasphemous paraphrase he'd seen before in some war movie: "Though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley."

"Cute," said Garrett, pausing a moment to savor the delicate and sublime taste of the cigar. "Suits you, too. Read this was Viet-Nam's unofficial slogan among soldiers, is that why you got it?"

"It was a gift," said Xander, sharing the information without a second thought, "from this buddy of mine in the army."

"So you were in the army!" said Garrett in a tone suggesting his pride at uncovering some of Xander's past.

"No, field stripping a Helter and Koch Mp5 in less then 30 seconds, that's on every good public school curriculum these days," he said sarcastically before conceding Garrett the victory. "Yeah for a while, so was Faith, that's why she isn't rotting in jail right now. Anyway, the lighter belonged to my buddy' father, the guy served over there. Died a couple of years later during some black ops of some sort. You know, you'd wonder why anyone would join the army after loosing their father to it, but Riley is just that kind of wacky guy."

"Gee, family heirloom," said Garrett impressed, "what did you do for that Riley guy , save his life in a movie like fashion. Fire raining down, people screaming amidst gunfire, him strap to your back as your running for miles? Something like that?"

"Nah," said Xander becoming pensive, "Nothing heroic, in fact, quite the contrary…"

Xander's finger slid slowly across the barrel of the 7.62 NATO Walther 2000. The wooden framing couldn't be distinguished from the metal parts, as the sniping rifle had been painted two shades of gray, urban camouflage. Xander sighed as he looked upon the weapon, it was a true masterpiece, a sculpture of death, one he had admired but days ago before all of this happened, before reality caught up with romanticism and idealism. He swallowed hard, his jaw shifting as he slowly closed the zipper of the carrying case. He looked up to see Riley smiling sympathetically at him, sharing Xander's distraught.

"Xand, I want you to know…" started Riley, looking like a little boy in a Major's uniform. 

"Save it," said Xander dryly at first, then warming up. "It's not your fault Riley, you couldn't have known."

"You're under my command, I should have known and it is my responsibility," said Riley as he walked around the desk to stand next to his friend. They both wore their dress uniform, a strange choice of formality for such a dreadful occasion, a subconscious cry for a reminder of all the things they joined up for. "If they would let me take the shot instead of you, I would."

"I know," replied Xander smiling. "But there's no point playing that game now, and you know I would never let a friend do my dirty work for me." Suddenly, the door to Riley's office slid open, revealing a short balding man in his fifties, governmental black suit and the air of arrogance of a bureaucrat.

"Captain Harris, you're keeping us waiting, might I suggest you wrap up your sappy moment with Major Riley and start acting like a professional?" said the man in an authoritative tone.

"Clark!" interjected Riley before Xander could respond, "Why don't you get your NSA ass out of my office before I get an itch to have a full body cavity search performed on you… for reason of security, you understand." Without saying anything, but still keeping the grin on his face, Clark walked back the way he came. Riley sighed as the doors closed behind him.

"Fucking spook!" said Riley to Xander, who nodded and smiled in agreement.

"Well I guess I should go, sir."

"One more thing before I dismiss you," said Riley as he wet his lips and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver lighter. "I want you to have this. It was my dad, the biological one. He was a ranger, served in Vietnam. He died when I was about ten, or at least I think so, he just went on a "fishing trip" one day and never came back. There's no records that I could find, but I heard from some of his friends he was on a black ops somewhere in Russia. Anyway, the day he left, he gave me this. Told me it was the only souvenir he kept from Vietnam. Told me he always carried it around as a constant reminder that morality is a luxury that brave men can rarely afford. Never quite understood what he meant until the Initiative was destroyed; I've carried it ever since though. I think you understand why I want you to have it now."

"Yes, sir," said Xander as he took the gift with great respect for the gesture. They looked at each other for a moment in silent understanding. Xander snapped to attention, his hand raising to meet his eyebrow in a proper salute, Riley solemnly reciprocated.

"Sir."

"Good luck Captain. You are dismissed." Xander turned and headed for the door stopping as they slid open before him. 

"Riley, one thing…"

"Don't worry Xander, they touch her, and these NSA bastard will have a war on their hand. You have my word on that, my word and that of everymen in this outfit." Xander shook his head in pride, a feeling of brotherhood replacing his dread for a moment.

"Ouah," said Xander.

"Ouah," replied Riley.

"So what' up with you and Faith anyway? I didn't hear any headboard banging on the walls last night, and she doesn't seem like the quiet type," asked Garrett smiling as he snapped Xander back to reality. The later grunted and looked away for a moment before answering the question.

"It's complicated. You grow up knowing about vampire and demons, fighting them, thwarting their plans, watching some of your friends die, while everybody else is playing Playstation and watching Dawson's Creek or something, you kind of get to a point where you can't relate with normal folks anymore. The people you fight besides though, you put your life in their hands, they put theirs in yours, and somewhere in there, as you're forced to rely on each other everyday, it creates a bond stronger than anything else you can experience. She's the closest thing I have to family, Garrett, but she's a real pain in the ass sometimes. They don't call them Bad Girls without reason, you know? Wherever Faith goes, trouble follows."

"So that's the story, you guys met while fighting demons?"

"What are you, Katrina's spy?"

"Hey, I'm nobody's lackey. I was just wondering how a looser like you met a girl like that."

"Where you meet girls like that Garrett… the back alley of a bar," said Xander jokingly. "Okay, got to go rescue the girl, save the world, blah, blah, blah." Xander quickly exited the car making his way toward the old warehouse. Garrett rolled down his window so he could yell after Xander who continued walking decisively, never turning back.

"Break a leg… preferably not your own," yelled Garrett after Xander, than lowering his voice to speak to himself, inspecting his cigar approvingly. "Good cigar." 

Jonahs' breath was erratic. He followed dutifully as the vampire pushed him into the large room. His heart screamed for him to run, and the thought was temping, but he could still feel the iron grip of the vampire on his right shoulder. The fingers were dug in painfully in his flesh vanquishing any hopes of flight. His eyes ran to Faith, whose limp body was being dragged by two vampires holding her at the shoulders. The sight before him was frightening. It was a lab, his lab to be precise. The equipment was inexplicably rusted, almost beyond recognition, but it was all there. His body tensed as he stared at the scalpels and the surgical saws near the operating table, they were his tools, his prized possession and now they were meant to become the instruments of his torture, of his death. Irony was a real bitch sometimes. 

"Finally," said Layla, rising from behind the rotten wooden desk. The room was moderately dark, but amidst the rays of streetlight sneaking through an open window, Jonahs could see the blood splattered around her mouth. Somehow, he hadn't noticed it until now, but a young black man lied dead over the desk, his throat ripped out. The look on his face was strangely serene, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Jonahs jerked as he heard the door close behind him; he was now trapped in the room with Layla and four of her vampire acolytes. 

"Layla," he said, his voice trembling. She moved across the room until she stood next to the operating table. As she came to a stop, her eyes flared up with jealousy as the vamps let Faith's limp fall to the ground.

"Who is she?" she growled at one of her minions.

"She was with him, in a pretty friendly way," answered one of the vampires, "I thought you might be interested in gutting her open or something."

"I was right," she spat at Jonahs, "You are cheating on me! I'm not beautiful enough for you anymore so you got yourself some young whore to replace me! How could you Jonahs, after I forgave you. You can't abandon me again like this when I love you so much!"

"You want to kill me Layla!" he yelled at her. "Kill me! I don't want to die, I don't want to become like you."

"You didn't give me a choice! I don't want to be alone, I don't want to suffer like this, not by myself. Don't you see it's the only way we can be together. I don't care how you look, I never had. I'll still love you when you look like this," pleaded Layla, as Faith slowly rose to her feet, stretching theatrically and yawning. Layla's head snapped toward the brunette who acted as if she was groggy.

"Did I miss anything, I actually dozed off for a sec," said Faith.

"You're just in time to watch Jonahs die you little hussie," said Layla grabbing a surgical saw off the tray and walking toward Faith. "Then, you're gonna be our celebration meal." Faith shrugged her shoulder, unmoved by the display.

"Sorry Ugly Mary, but as super wicked as it would be to watch you pork slimy over there, I think my severe aversion to being eaten alive is just about to force me to kill you all, you know?" As she was finishing her sentence, the vampire to her left reach out to shut up the insolent young woman before him. Her elbow connected to his jaw and he flew back and crashed onto a small counter, toppling over the various vials of liquid that shattered and spilled their contents all over him. He yelled piercingly as his skin sizzled and melted under the mysterious chemicals. 

His compatriot to Faith's right tried to dodge the stake aiming for his heart, but the blow came too fast and soon he froze, his body instantly crumpling into dust. The vampire by the door quickly advanced on Faith, but as quickly returned the way he came as a powerful sidekick landed on his solar plexus. 

"Did I forget to mention, I'm a real bitch when I don't get my beauty sleep," said Faith turning to Layla who was boiling with anger. "But I guess you wouldn't know what I'm talkin' about, seein' as you don't have to worry about lookin' pretty in the morning anymore." Layla pounced at Faith, a roar escaping her lips, she moved faster than Faith had anticipated and the saw slashed Faith's arm superficially as she tried to sidestep the attack. The pain didn't even make Faith cringe, and she punched her assailant square in the face. Surprise again, as Layla spun with the blow and let out a powerful backhand at Faith's jaw that the slayer couldn't as easily brush off as her opponent had her own attack. Faith bounced off the wall, her hand reaching up at the blood trickling from her mouth. Layla was stronger than her, and so now was the time to get serious. She turned at the sound of Jonahs crashing over the surgical tray. Two vampires stood next to Layla, glaring at Faith menacingly. At the slayer's right, the chemically burnt vampire tried to pull himself to his feet, only to be dusted by a quick jab of Faith's stake. She then took a step forward and almost fell through as one of the boards gave under her weight. Faith smiled wickedly at her three remaining opponents, blood still trickling from her mouth. 

"And I thought this wasn't gonna be fun." 

"So, you think there's any chance we might get to eat the girl?" asked a vampire to his friend as they lit up cigarettes near the entrance of the warehouse. There were boxes all around, junk and a few vampires moving around in the background. A metal staircase led up to two successive surrounding balconies above. There were only small rays of light, escaping the cold night through small cracks in the boarded up windows. Suddenly, the front door swung open, catching everyone's attention. Cold wind singing its way to the two vamps, bushing their long hair out of their faces. A man stepped in from outside, walking decisively as if he was something to be afraid off. The vampire slowly approached, observing him as he came to a stop. The man exhaled a large cloud of smoke, a cigar in his mouth, a pistol in his hand, a sword handle hanging behind his right hip, sunglasses covering a likely to be jaded expression. One of the vampires laughed.

"Let me guess, you're cavalry guy, am I right? Well I'm sorry to tell, Mr.I-wanna-be-a-vampire-hunter, but guns don't work on.." the vampires words died with him as his head exploded, blood spraying all over his baffled buddy. His body wobbled about for a moment and then dust flew away with the wind. The man slowly aimed the smoking pistol at the other vampire's head, his expression still jaded as he inhaled. 

"Gentlemen," said Xander, "Welcome to the wonderful world of 45 caliber hollow points." Another flash, another loud pop, then the sound of a vampire turning to dust.

Sanaz rubbed her eyes delicately, as a yawn escaped her lips. Her hands quickly went back to the plastic keystrokes, as her face glowed in the light of the computer screen. An upset Gabe paced in the background as she typed and moved the mouse around, surfing the web for a specific news article. 

"I don't get why Xander left us behind," said Gabe, "I thought we had this whole team spirit thing going." He was visibly disappointed

"He doesn't need us anymore, he's got Mega-Slut backing him up, remember?" responded Katrina visibly annoyed. She twirled around a pencil nervously between her fingers as she slouched over the living room couch.

"That sucks," added Marcus, sitting on one of the arm of the couch, overseeing Katrina. "I was just getting down that whole killing stuff. It was starting to be fun. He can't just leave us hangin' like that."

"Relax Marcus," said Katrina, calming down and straightening up. "I'm just venting, I'm sure he's not gonna cut us out of the loop, he probably has his reasons for excluding us off that one. Anyway, even if I find her somewhat irritating, at least with slayer girl, we know he'll be safe. She seems to know how to handle herself."

"Major understatement there," said Sanaz half-absently, "She could freak out my women self-defense class teacher, 'Women are naturally inferior physically to men". Yeah, I don't think so. I'm gonna have Faith pick up his macho ass with one hand and show him some true girl power."

"Yeah, I have to say, slayer powers are definitively on the cool side," said Marcus. "Somethin' about a fine lookin' girl kicking butt for real. Ouch!"

"Yeah," concurred Gabe, thinking back to Xander and Faith sparring session. "Something about seeing California squirms too. It felt good." 

"Oh my god!" Suddenly, Sanaz's expression changed to a half-horrified surprise as the screen displayed the article she had been looking for. The entire group joined her in the confusion as they approached the computer screen. "We have to tell Xander!"

"Katrina," said Gabe decisively, "get on the phone, try calling Garrett. Sanaz, print it. Marcus, go hail us a cab."

Xander swung himself over an oblique support metal beam for the second story balcony, escaping from the three vampires that had just attempted to back him into a corner. He landed kicking another one, and then dodging out of another's attack, rolling off the wall as he did. Xander then spun, lifting his sword, cutting down vampires as he made his way toward the back of the warehouse. One vampire burst into dust after a upward cut, slashing him from hip to shoulder, the next vamp loosing his head as Xander spun in a different direction. He carefully backed away now, sword raised next to his temple. He had half a dozen vampires in front of him. He had killed the other half dozen over the last few minutes, kind of impressive he guessed, but right now he regretted holstering the gun as he realized the fittest had indeed survived. 

"Faith," he spoke into his throat mike, "Could use some help here." It took some time for her to respond.

"Kind.. of.. busy… right… now," said Faith, her voice crackling through Xander's ear piece. The sound of her voice seemed to soothe him, even in this most emotionally charged moment. He had things to say to her, and though dying might save him the trouble of figuring some emotions out, today was not the day; life was too much of a bitch to leave him off the hook that easily. His fear dissipated, and he engaged, taking on the formidable force before him. They outranked him, in numbers and in physical strength, but his blade was all he needed to tip the scale. He flung himself forward, a long unelaborated strike reducing his enemies' numbers by one. The next closet vampire lost both his arms trying to take advantage of an opening that did not exist. And Xander continued his journey, taking out some of the vampires as he went.

Suddenly, Faith came bursting through one of the wooden door on the third floor. She and Layla were locked in a clutch, they both wrestled for control, rolling off the railing, trading the dominant position at random interval. A vampire came pouncing out the door of the room as Faith broke free and sent Layla spinning horizontally to the ground with a powerful wheel kick. The vampire attempt to blindside Faith with a punch, but his attack was easily blocked, and only to be followed by his untimely demise to Faith's stake. Before his ashes fell through the metal grating, Layla was back on her feet and attempting slashes at Faith.

Suddenly, as Xander fended off the three remaining vampires, the fourth having just exploded into ash, the front door slammed open once more and the entire gang from Gabe to Sanaz poured in.The remaining vampires immediately ran for the hills, realizing they were now by far outnumbered. Xander watched them rushed past him, lowering his weapon as he sighed. He looked half-annoyed half-disappointed, turning toward his band of cavalry/party crasher who had just robbed him of a very satisfying victory. 

"Xander!" yelled Sanaz in a hurried fashion as she carefully stepped toward him, the gang in tow. She watched her feet, sidestepping dead rats and jumping over small piles of ashes. "We have…" Her voice was interrupted by the sharp sound of Faith grunting as she was rammed once more into the metal railing. The gang instinctively looked up, and caught their first glimpse at the dreadful thing that was now Layla Kittridge. The situation looked rather grim for the slayer as her ghoulish foe pressed her hard against the railing. Faith's body was half tipped over and she seemed locked in a fight for control of Layla's right arm, which held the surgical saw that dangled only an inch from Faith's throat.

"Hey!" yelled Faith from above, "When you ladies are done havin' tea and chattin' up the weather down there, maybe you could find the time to join the violence and help me kill that thing!"

"Thing!" yelled Layla, enraged as she violently spun Faith away from the railing and send her flying into the room with a powerful kick. A demonic roar, a cry of hatred addressed at the ceiling, and then Layla quickly rushed in after the slayer, surgical saw raised high. Before anybody could say anything, Xander was half-way up the stairs, running like a madman.

"Wait! Xander!" yelled Sanaz.

The thumping of his heartbeat was deafening. It was all he could hear, but it was no surprise to Xander, it was that kind of moment. The type of moment where everything seemed to slow down as the adrenaline started rushing in, numbing all things irrelevant, bringing clarity and focus, and a paradoxical inner piece that could not find no reconciliation with the pure rage that vibrated throughout his being. It was the type of moment he had been through too many times by now, but the sad truth was that those were the moment where Xander Harris excelled. When someone he cared about was in danger, he was hatred, he was death. 

Xander slipped in the room. Long strides, rhythmic, graceful. Layla was busy wrestling with Faith, who formed a smile as she observed Xander's rapid approach. Layla's back was such an attractive target, she hadn't noticed him, she couldn't and more importantly she wouldn't have time to now. Xander's moves seemed so slow, so deliberate, yet his speed was formidable, he moved like a cheetah about to pounce on his prey. The thumping of Xander's heartbeat was growing faster. The whisper of a song, a tale of metal cutting the air. The sword, its blade shining in the darkness as it slid on its horizontal path, Layla's at neck its target. Perfection. Death in a single stroke. All of it ruined by that wacky thing called luck, or lack there of.

There was a loud noise, the sound of wood cracking under Xander's weight. His lead foot had landed and went straight through the rotten floor. His balance was lost by the unforeseen event and Xander slumped forward, his blade burying itself, with considerably less strength into Layla's rib. The latter barely reacted; she gave no hint that she had been dealt any pain from the blow. Instead she shoved Faith over the operating table and turned slowly toward Xander, who was trying frantically to free his foot. He stopped as he saw her lunge toward him. A clumsy attempt to impale her saw for result his sword flying away to the side, disappearing somewhere amidst the rubbles. Layla seized him by the throat, an iron grip that Xander quickly fought to break with no avail as she raised him high in the air, ripping some of the floorboards as she did.

"Who might you be?" she spat at him as Xander gasped for air, his face contorting to reflect the pain he was under. Without hesitation, he started throwing powerful kicks at her head, but it would snap backward and comeback undamaged. She laughed at him, when suddenly she stopped as the sound of metal burying itself in her flesh was heard. Her face changed to an annoyed expression and she threw Xander across the room. He landed into a wall, leaving a immense dent before gravity took its effect and brought him to his knee. He stayed down for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He looked up to see Layla turn around to face Faith once more; a large surgical instrument was buried into her back, but she seemed unaffected by it.

Faith jumped over the surgical table, attempting a flying acrobatic kick as she did. It connected, sending Layla back a few step, enough of an opening for Faith to step in with a combination. The first two punches landed without any resistance or seemingly any affect, the third was blocked and grabbed, Layla pulling Faith forward as her fist traveled in the opposite direction, aiming for Faith's stomach. The slayer bent over in two as she staggered back, spitting blood, but she almost immediately spun and threw a wheel kick at Layla's face. This blow actually seemed to manage to stun Layla for a moment as Faith recuperated.

The whole gang stepped inside the room in time to watch Xander shoulder rush Layla, who slid back a few steps, as if she was a tall armoire that Xander had just nudged a bit. 

"Watch out Xander!" said Faith as he pulled himself off, preparing to throw a punch. "She's…" Xander fist landed painfully on Layla's face, and the pain was all his. Death had somehow hardened her skin. "… really hard." 

Yet Xander pressed on, throwing his entire body at her, elbow first. The blow managed to push Layla back, but she quickly kicked Xander hard in the groin, sending him to his knees once more as the guys watching cringed in vicarious pain.

"Hey Bitch!" yelled Faith, as she launched herself once more. "I need that!" They traded blows for a second, Faith more cautious, blocking all her adversaries' blows as the other barely ever bothered to do the same. Soon, Xander was on his feet and joining into the fight.

"Xander!" yelled Sanaz, the group judging best to hold back from this fight. "I have to tell you something!"

"Not know!" he yelled, ducking under a punch. "Faith! Like the wind." Suddenly, Xander and Faith turned the battle around. Layla flayed her arms aimlessly as the two would alternatively charge in with a few blows, only to pull away as Layla attempted to return the attacks, and then the other would strike from a different side and repeat the process. They were overwhelming her, sometimes striking simultaneously, with great effect on the previously unshakable zombie. Abruptly, Xander stepped behind their adversary and kicked the back of her knee, forcing Layla down and into the trajectory of Faith's knee strike. Layla fell back, but the victory was only momentary as she pounced back to her feet and struck Xander with the back of her hand, sending spinning bloody and dazed on a oblique axis.

"California! You alright?" said Gabe as knelt by his friend, the gang venturing in as Faith and Layla took the fight further back inside the room. Xander raised himself to a sitting position, spitting blood and his hand reaching for his pistol.

"That's it!" he said angrily. The sound of the weapon cocking alerted Layla who effortlessly kicked Faith out of the way and raised arms in front of her face for protection. The bullets practically bounced off, tearing some flesh as they did but causing no serious damage.

"Shit!" yelled Xander, "Her flesh is too hard, the hollow points aren't piercing through!" His eyes scanned the room, looking for his sword or some sort of weapon. Marcus leaned in, the floor creaking under his feet.

"See that's what planning supposed to be about, dog. We should have brought somethin' that we could kill her with, you know?" But Xander barely processed what his friend was saying, his eyes fixed on the floorboards which had just creaked under Marcus' weight.

"No need, dog," said Xander smiling. "I got all the weapons I need." He turned his head toward Layla, kneeling and aiming the gun carefully at her before whistling to catch the girls' attention. Surprisingly, it succeeded. They stopped, turning their head, their hands still raised, their guard up, but their body still. Jonahs was cowering only a few meters away, pressed against a wall where he had been hiding since the beginning of the fight. Faith was breathing heavily and Layla looked intrigued by Xander's action.

"C'mon, you can't be hoping waving that gun is gonna stop me from killing this little whore," said Layla almost amused. "You've seen what little effect bullets have on me, you're just wasting our times aiming that gun at me."

"Don't worry, I wasn't intent on aiming it at you for long." responded Xander, as he quickly aimed at the floor at Layla's feet and opened fire. The boards cracked as the bullets perforated them and soon, Layla was falling through with a resounding crash. Her body jammed at about waist height, leaving her practically defenseless as Xander rapidly made his way to her, dropping his empty pistol as he did. She squirmed frenetically, digging her fingers in the surrounding planks, trying to pull herself up, only to have them break as she exerted force. Soon, Xander was standing but a meter away staring alternatively at a now calm and resigned Layla to dead young man on the table. Faith loomed over by Xander's side, her arms crossed over her chest. Jonahs was slowly approaching as Sanaz yelled out.

"Xander! You have to stop!"

"Listen to her," added Katrina. 

"What is it?" responded Xander. Sanaz started walking forward, brandishing the computer printout of an article. Jonahs suddenly turned pale.

"She didn't die in a car crash Xand," explained Sanaz as Xander scanned the article. "She was murdered, with her lover. They were stabbed to death in his bed and he was the police prime suspect. He got away on a technicality."

"I can explain," quickly added Jonahs.

"You pig," interrupted Faith, almost snarling.

"You don't understand, it was an impulse thing. I found her there and… I just loved her so much that…"

"There's nothing to explain," spoke Layla in a sad tone. "You made a mistake and I've forgiven you. It was my fault, you were more preoccupied with your researched than with me and I'm sorry that it affected…"

"Hey!" interrupted Faith. "Don't apologize to this fuck. Why are you doing that, he murdered you and damned you?"

"I love him. Love makes you do strange things sometimes." There was a long moment of silence. The words had struck a chord with everyone in the room and took sometimes before somebody spoke.

"So what are we gonna do, now?" asked Gabe.

"You have to kill her of course," said Jonahs nervously, surprising everyone with how cold his words were. "You can't let her go on like this, she's evil. She's just gonna keep coming until she gets me, and she'll kill hundreds more just to keep herself fed. You have to kill her, it's the right thing to do."

"More like the right thing to keep your ugly ass outta jail," responded Marcus. "Sounds to me like you want to bury the evidence."

"That doesn't matter Marcus," intervened Sanaz. "He's been tried and found not guilty, he can't be tried again. And it's not like we could waltz her in there and have her say, 'yeah that's the man that killed me alright'." 

"I'm not evil! I just can't help it! I need to feed, it's so powerful. I cry every time, I try as hard as I can to postpone it. He made me this way, I didn't ask to be brought back, certainly not like this. I'm not evil, I just don't want to be alone, I don't want him to abandon me. Not now. I need someone so bad. I'm in so much pain, I can't take it anymore," she said sincerely as se wept. Xander had remained silent, staring at Layla. Her features were eroded, but he could still see the beauty there, the humanity struggling to stay alive and the eyes, the amazing eyes, still as mesmerizing as they ever were. They filled him with sadness.

"I understand now," he said. "The visions. I was meant to help you, not him." The silence grew once more as Xander started fiddling around with a silver lighter he'd dug out of his pocket.

"So what now?" asked Katrina. Nobody answered her, instead Faith unzipped one the pockets of her leather jacket and pulled out a small pistol. She held it toward Xander.

"It's loaded with APs, should do the trick," she said, looking at the floor as she did. Everyone grew uneasy. Katrina for herself, was outraged.

"If you think Xander's gonna kill her you're… you're even more insane than you act... which I agree is a pretty stupid thing to say, but still no killing."

"Why don't you get off me, Vanilla. Like I said, you don't know him very well."

"Xander, you can't do this, look at her. She's not evil, she can't help what's she's doing. We can find a cure…"

"Huh, huh, V. There ain't no cure or fix or anything we can do for her. He mixed magic and science together, whatever you do like that, you set in stone. We can't help her, there's no other way." There was a long wait. Xander was frozen not responding to anything or anybody. Just staring at Layla, seeing her in his mind as she once must have been. Riley's lighter rolling in between his fingers.

"You want me to do it?" offered Faith.

"You ever known me to let somebody else do my dirty work," he said, taking off his sunglasses as he took the pistol, cocked it and pressed it's muzzle against Layla's skull.

"Look me in the eyes," he told her. "I want to make sure you keep me up at night." His hand was shaking as he tried to muster the strength to pull the trigger.

"Take the shot, Harris!" The voice screeched over his earplug, but he didn't respond. Gray beard. Blue eyes. He was dressed in a gray suit and had a proud look on his face. Unbeknownst to him was the crosshair painted on his forehead.

"Take the goddamn shot, Harris! Or I swear by god she'll be dead before you can call her to say your goodbyes." Clark's voice. No response. Xander's breath was heavy, heavier than it should be for a shot like that and scope trembled. He calmed himself down using the breathing taking he'd learned. He made sure to look at the eyes. Never wanted to forget the eyes. 

"Last chance you fuck if he's not.." The shot rang out and with it died Clark's voice. Xander quickly closed his eye, turning away from his crime, but somehow, he could still see the blood.

"Good job, Captain. Good job."

"Xander, for god sake, I know you. You can't just kill her, that's not you."

"Yeah man, that's way too cold!" added Marcus.

"How about we let this one go, California?" asked Gabe. Xander slowly nodded his head in agreement, still staring into Layla's eyes.

"Yeah," he spoke slowly, his voice was ice. "You guys are right. Katrina, hand me the small square box about three feet behind you." Katrina sighed in relief, her body relaxing. She quickly turned around, eager to resolve the situation, but found nothing closely resembling a box there.

"Euh… Xander," she said without turning around, "I can't find.." Her eyes snapped shut as she jumped from the surprise. The shot rang out, followed quickly by the sound of a pistol being dropped to the floor. She waited a moment before turning hesitantly. 

"That's my, boy," said Faith proudly. Xander, his face sprayed with Layla's blood, glared at the slayer and she quickly quieted her antics, slowly pulling out her knife instead. Katrina was shocked, her eyes almost watering up. The whole group was quiet, not knowing how to respond to what they had just seen. Xander started walking away toward the door, trying not to pay attention to anything or anyone. The whole group started to follow but suddenly Faith made her way toward a relived Jonahs.

"Hey Fatso," she said as she grabbed him and pushed him against a wall, still waiving her knife in her hands. The whole group turned around, Xander looking in from the doorway. "Time for an express liposuction." Jonahs shrieked as she plunged her knife into his belly, then proceeding to gut him open, from bottom to top. Jonahs started convulsing before everyone's horrified stares as his intestines spilled at his feet, Faith still pinning him against the wall. Faith applied the knife against her mouth, licking the blood right before Jonahs' eyes.

"Here's one for the road, loverboy," she said, pressing her lips against Jonahs for a brief kiss before letting him slump into the pool of blood that had quickly formed at his feet. The convulsion started dying down. She looked at Xander as she wiped the blood off her knife on her leg and then sheathed it. 

"Anybody as a problem with this," she asked as she licked the blood off her fingers. Everyone was stunned. Xander for one seemed distant but unshaken by what had just happened. However it took him a moment to answer.

"Nope, no problem at all." 

He then tuned around and disappeared behind the door. Katrina looked at Faith who made her way toward her, swaying her hips as she did. She was smirking.

"How do you like you Xander, now?"

COMING SOON!!!

BETWEEN SHADOWS episode IVTHAT SWEET MADNESS


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